Hello, Motorbike?

Countless motorcycle drivers asking literally at every turn for us to take a ride, but instead we walked. Walking we get to see the little gems of Hanoi: a little pig tailed girl's impromptu dance, an old granny making some bizarre foods in a boiling pot on the street. Today we had tea with a boy selling knock off lonely planets and postcards. We chatted about the US and got a mini Vietnamese lesson, and talked about our lives. He was going to school in the mornings to be a bus driver, and took the afternoons to sell his wares around the the lake in the old quarter. We also ran our errands at the Lao consulate and the train station, visited the Temple of Literature (very lovely) and visited the silk road for some shopping. Nothing to buy yet, as we want to empty our pockets of dong on the last day we are hear. The silks are beautiful, but I am on a budget, and they are used to better heeled crowd. We ate lunch ate lunch at a non-profit place that employees street kids and gives them the chance to get off the streets and earn enough to continue their education, and the food was CRAZY good, and got fruit shakes that blew our minds. I love coconut and mango and I think I will indulge that craving while I am here. Tomorrow we leave for a three day tour of Halong bay. Cruising on a junk and kayaking around giant emerald karst formations sounds like a dream after the frenzy of Hanoi's streets. We will come back for one more day here before moving onto Laos, on which we will visit the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and do some real shopping. Now, time for a Pho dinner and some Bai Hoi (the local beer), and some sweet dreams.

Update: My ipod has been healed! After a couple of days of napping in my bag the click wheel has come back to life and I will have music for my 11 hour bus ride to Loas. I am feeling so grateful to the universe and the apple developers. Just goes to show, you gotta have faith.