Hanoi: walking is more like swimming

11-29
I had the day to hang out in Hanoi.  I started by checking out the tours to Halong bay, which is the obvious most visited spot by travelers.  Eventually I settled for the cheap tour, not because I'm cheap, but because I didn't want to be on a tour with anyone going on a honeymoon.  The cheap tour came in at 100 dollars for 2 nights and 3 days.

I walked around by myself exploring the southern part of Hanoi.  I didn't find a lot of interesting stuff, but it was pleasant to just walk.  I stopped for street food a couple times too. I have found that in Vietnam I am only not hungry for about an hour of time about 30 minutes after I eat.  I'm averaging 6 meals a day here.  The portions are smaller, and I am quite a bit more active, so I think its well deserved.

I chatted with this girl from England who was staying in my dorm room and had been teaching english in Ho Chi Minh city for the last year.  We ventured off for some food in the evening together, then checked out the lake, then got some ice cream.  The ice cream was called Fanny, but it looked like the diner from Back to the Future.  After we got back from ice cream I felt in need of a haircut--haven't had one since September, so I asked at the hostel and they directed me to a shop close by.  It seemed to fit somewhere in between a barber and a salon, so not too bad.  It was run by a lady and her 3 daughters, who seemed to be in their teens.  She cut my hair, and they watched--literally from a foot away.  It was kinda creepy, but the haircut was really good and cost about 3 dollars.

11-30

I was hoping to get on the Halong bay tour today, but it was full, so I had another day to bum around Hanoi.  I met two girls in the morning who had checked into my dorm room sometimes in the middle of the night while everyone else was sleeping.  They had just come from Korea where they had been teaching English (and are now finished).  We hung out for the day, reminiscing of our times in Korea. First we checked out the temple of Literature.  It had no books, nor did have anything to remind me of them.  The best part of that excursion was the spring rolls at the coffee shop next door, or the 2 girls who demanded pictures with me.

 Next we checked out the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum.  It wasn't open, but we went anyway.  The outside was very Tianeman square-ish.  Afterwards we walked back to our hostel.  We ate 6 meals that day together--it was well talked about and we were making bets throughout the day at how many we would get to.