Dec 18

Dec 18 SE Asian Christmas Town

I really like Vietnam, more specifically Hanoi. It's a huge city, but feels very manageable, and almost quaint. The streets in the old quarter of town are narrow, lined with shops and local food. There appears to be a lot of non-tourist things going on, which I always appreciate. It's less intimidating than Saigon. In relation to Saigon, Hanoi feels like a sleepy little village. Streets are much easier to cross even though they are filled with motorbikes. All physical signs point to this city being stressful, but it's just not. I don't know what it is, it's different here. Perhaps it's because the temperature in Hanoi is about 30 degrees cooler than Saigon. Not sweating one's ass off does wonders for having the capacity to relax. Who would have thought. You go into shops here to warm up, not to steal their air conditioning.

Hanoi also has a couple lovely lakes scattered throughout. Having any sort of easily accessible body of water within a metropolis makes a huge difference in quality of life. After spending extended time in a couple SE Asian megacities, the value of parks has never been more glaringly obvious. People need a convenient escape from vehicle choked streets. Hanoi does a great job achieving this balance.

Oh, and there is Christmas stuff all over the place. I'm convinced one hasn't truly experienced the spirit of Christmas until you've heard a little girl singing Jingle Bells in Vietnamese. Beyond adorable.

I think this building is related to a religion.

This is where white people take Instagram pictures.

This was actually very tasty. Kind of a fried glass noodle thing with dried crab, prawns, and a bunch of herbs. Ocean-y but not fishy, earthy, and full of interesting texture. Would eat again.

This scooter comes with it's own cockpilot. Ba dum tsssss..... Just get a load of this fowl behavior. Sorry...

This is an artsy looking coffeeshop. Fun fact: 99% of shops in Hanoi are indeed coffeeshops. Completely true. The Vietnamese are an extremely caffeinated people. Not sure I've already mentioned that on this blog, but I'm saying it again.

This dog doesn't know why it's not in Siberia.

This is probably a religiously affiliated building. The intricately carved roofs are always a dead giveaway.

Tony Clifton strikes again.

This is part of a very large lake. If I ran around it I would need, I dunno, an entire pizza. It's probably like 15 miles around.

This is a beautiful coffeeshop where very stylish Vietnamese girls take Instagram pictures with inanimate objects.

This is me being bashful because I have a sore throat and don't feel amazing.

SE Asia has given me a bit of a sweet tooth.

Really though, one of the most beautiful coffeeshops in a country full of beautiful coffeeshops.

Pretty communist buildings.

This is a giant government square. It was quite impressive. I like the Lone Ranger keeping watch over the grass and flowers.

"Quick, do something interesting"

"NO, WE DON'T WANT A RIDE. NO, REALLY, PLEASE GO AWAY."

That's how you deal with these guys. They can be a bit persistent.

I think this dude caught me.

So many fun backpacks here.

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Driving lessons. It was Sunday and all the streets were closed to traffic around this beautiful lake that we have been walking around. Closed except for all these kids in fun little toy cars. Jazmyne was nearly run over more than once. Very cute close calls.