Good bye China, Good morning Vietnam!

Good Morning Vietnam!
I say this EVERY MORNING

We arrived in Hanoi late. We had been warned by fellow travelers about the schemers, thieves, nerdowells that troll the airport. We encountered them, but avoided them and had a civilized ride to our hotel.

Welcome Flowers for Us

Vietnamese currency is a Dong. It is a hard to currency to deal with because of the inflation. 1,000 Dong is 6 cents. 17,000 Dong is one Dollar. Luckily, USD are used and gladly accepted everywhere.

There are a few things that stand out from our time in Hanoi. First–the traffic. I would still be standing on a corner in Hanoi if not for Marc. He figured out that you just need to start walking–despite the fact that you are walking into on coming traffic. I was not a fan of this system. Traffic lights are obviously for tourists only. While waiting at a red light, we watched in amazement the scooters fly through the intersection–while they were at a red light. Pedestrians do not have the right of way. Obviously I didn’t feel safe crossing the street. It is however a system that somehow works. 4 people on one scooter, no helmets flying through red lights, it is beyond me how there isn’t an accident every 2 minutes (you wouldn’t believe the volume of scooters), but there isn’t.

Hanoi Traffic

Restaurant Vietnamese Style

Now it is time to tell you about Bianca. Marc and I walked into a little store to buy water and low and behold, there is the most stunning cat on a little chain at the back of the store. She is pure white (when I was growing up, I used to have a pure white cat who wore a pink diamond collar and I couldn’t have loved him more). I promptly named this lovely beast Bianca (she actually named herself) and decided then and there that I wanted her. She had this ratty tatty as big as your thumb sticking out of her neck. She needed a bath and a pink diamond collar–but she was regal my friends–regal. My plan? Buy Bianca from the store owner (money does talk in this country) get her on a plane and send her to Hamilton until we get home. Marc started pointing out of a few issues with my plan. You actually can’t just send a cat to Canada from Vietnam. There are forms, vet visits, vaccines, quarantine period… So sadly Bianca is still at the store. We went back for a visit and she was fast asleep in a little box–still on a chain. I miss her already.

Bianca

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