Vietnam

The high and low points of the last few days.....

Nha Trang

We spent the rest of the time scuba diving, snorkeling, getting foot massages on the beach and eating some of the best sea food ever; lobster, clams, muscles, oysters, prawns, all fresh and fantastic! Second to the cheese plate at Ooh la in San Francisco, the oysters cooked with a quail egg was one of the best food combinations I have ever had.

Hoi An

Hoi An is a cute little colonial town on the coast of Vietnam. There is one tailor shop per person living there. If you are looking for an affordable wardrobe and/or closet full of new shoes, Hoi An is your place.

Walking through the fishing village, we met Sung and his father who demonstrated fishing with a giant net they would raise from the water with a large wheel. It was fascinating to watch them work and talk with their family.

We had one of the best Indian meals I've had, but it let to severe food poisoning. Combined with sleeping on a rock bed, the overall experience was not the best. It has taken 4 days to be able to think about eating anything besides french fries. Why are they so good?

Hanoi

We chose Hanoi as a launch point for Halong Bay. Due to the Typhoon, we were unable to reach Halong Bay, but enjoyed the diversity of the City and the comfy beds we used for our recovery. Hanoi is a large city with affluent homes surrounding a deteriorated and congested core. There is cat on the menu for breakfast (I know it's sick to say, but, finally someone found a good use for them) and Dog for dinner. 'Dog Meat Restaurant Area' is a 1-kilometer stretch of road with over 60 restaurants that serve up man's best friend as the main course. This is sad. To avoid bad luck, the Vietnamese avoid eating dog in the first half of the lunar month. I've got to believe that eating dog in the first place is bad luck.

The traffic in Hanoi rivals Ho Chi Minh City. The unwritten rule of driving is, the bigger vehicle gets the right of way and pedestrians better run. Lonely Planet compares crossing the street in Hanoi to parting the Red Sea. I have not attempted the later, but feel I may be ready based on this experience. Since the horror stories of near death traffic conditions never get old (right?), I would like to introduce a new, exceptionally psychotic, breed of taxi driver discovered in Hanoi: the driver who's horn honks continuously with one tap. I am not referring to the wussie drivers who play a tune with their horn, I mean actual honking, non stop. One tap. Twenty plus honks. This driver has his own set of road rules and is a raving lunatic. This driver....

- will not stop the horn, even when no one else is around.

- will not stop for red lights. Instead, goes around the law abiding drivers and through the intersection like there is no one else on the road.

- has no respect for larger vehicles. He will take a bus head on, traveling on the wrong side of the road.

- will probably hit you if you are in a car and will definitely it you on a motorbike or bicycle if you don't get the hell out of the way.

Colleen couldn't watch. I had to. It was awesome.