Crunchin it up in Indochine

We have finally arrived in Hanoi Vietnam after our 2 days of traveling. We arrived late last night and already had some fabulous experiences. on the plane from bangkok to hanoi there were a whole bunch of monks all dressed in their orange robes ironically equipped with cell phones, adidas sandals, and cameras. the first thing i noticed were how quiet everyone was. driving in from the airport the place looked deserted, but once we got closer to town things started to pick up. i dont think i have ever seen so many motorcycles in one place. and not surprisingly it says in footprints that hanoi is one the worlds most densely populated motorcycle places. Alyson and I checked into the hotel and then went for a walk to check out the area. we found ourselves at Hoan Kiem Lake, which is a beautiful lake in the middle of the city surrounded by a small park. all the teenagers were hanging out there and we definitely caught their attention... this was just the beginning of many boys saying hello to us. We stopped at a restaurant, had a hanoi beer and enjoyed the atmosphere. This morning we went back to the lake cause there is a shrine on an island in the middle of the lake. we were wearing shorts so we weren't sure if we would be able to get in but every thing was fine once we got there. there was lots of incense and buddhas. it was a temple for the god of literature. alyson and i were walking around taking pictures and some guy starts talking to us and taught us a little vietnamese which was fun. then we left the temple and were sitting in the park and another guy gave me his straw hat. i dont think i have ever been stared at by so many people. I definitely think the hat means something i just dont kno what yet. anyway, we became friends.. i took pictures with him and his friends...and it was so amazing that we didnt speak the same language at all but got our points across. then we ventured into the streets. women were carrying their fruits and veggies on baskets balanced on their shoulders, and we even ended up getting talked into taking a picture wearing one and then fighting with the woman because she was forcing us to buy her fruit. we just ended up giving her 20000 dong (about a dollar)for the picture and walked away. Now we are headed to our next hotel to meet up with our new intrepid friends (hopefully really hot australian guys).

love,

Simi