heyhey so today we went to Hoa Lu (capital of Vietnam at end of 10th and beginning of 11th centuries under Dinh and Le dynasties) and Tam Coc (billed as "Halong Bay on the rice paddies") which was quite nice though for what it was quite over-run with tourists. When we went to Perfume Pagoda (about the same distance and quite a similar experience with rowing around in a boat for a couple hours) there were far fewer tourists despite Perfune Pagoda definitely ranking way higher on the "must see" list of things in the area to see. Maybe its just a busier time of the season.
Monday and Tuesday we chilled about saw World Trade Center, did some shopping around the Old Quarter, had the chocolate buffet at the Sofitel Metropole (very nice), went to the gym, etc. Got our Cambodian visas so now we're good to go to Phnom Penh and Siem Reap! Very exciting! Should be a bit different than Vietnam I reckon.
Had Bun Rieu (pronounced "Boon Zeoo") for dinner with one of the teachers from our school which was very nice, but it was a very busy time for dinner (7pm) and so we were piled on with the other 30 or 40 Vietnamese on to this one tiny corner in the Old Quarter. Kind of funny especially when adding in the hacked up pieces of pig on a basket in front of us, Caroline's general disgust with the congealed chicken blood and unidentified bits of meat floating around in an otherwise standard bowl of noodles and soup. Needless to say I enjoyed it! Hah. Was reminded of an interesting feature of the culture here-- the teacher we had dinner with, Hung, is 25 and is not (yet) married and so lives with her parents until she gets married whenupon she would move in with her husband, a norm that seems to be the case with virtually all women here. Kind of crazy as it seems to exclude the possibility of an independent woman! Consequently, everyone here is borderline obsessed with when they're getting married (and of course, to who, how much money he has, etc.) not just for the standard reasons we have in the West (important phase of your emotional life, etc) but because its a crucial stage of someone's life in every dimension as per above.
And on that somewhat insightful note I am going to sleep! Vietnamese lesson tomorrow morning! I can't believe we're leaving Hanoi on Monday!! Ahhh
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