Playing frogger in 'Nam

I've finally done what my father never had the balls to do, I've headed to Vietnam. It's become quickly clear that not all of Asia is like Hong Kong. We've spent the first two days mostly just exploring Hanoi and getting a taste for the city both literally and figuratively.

The first thing you notice when arriving is the constant crazy cacophony of traffic. Mopeds come at you from all directions without stopping. At first, it's hard to get out of the habit of waiting for traffic to stop. Eventually, you just have to just go for it. If you stay here long enough, people walk through oblivious to traffic talking on their cell phones. You just have to just count on the moppeders not to hit you.

The hostel we're staying at is amazing. Huge rooms, separate bathrooms with hot water, free delicious breakfast, great hospitality, all for 11 dollars a night. Money goes a long way here with full meals under 3 dollars.

Speaking of food, I actually think the food here is actually better than in Hong Kong. We've eaten some pho in streetside stalls as well as some more exotic fare, like vietnamese ox. We also me up with a great local who we drank some local beer only found here in Hanoi.

Finally, we've felt obliged to do some cultural things as well. We went to a couple temples, a war museum and a traditional water puppet show. We kinda stumbled on all these things when walking around.

Up next, taking a lesson on the language/cooking and possibly driving around on a moped.