Jingle Bells in Vietnam

Finally made it to Hanoi, Vietnam last night so today I spent all day wandering around this crazy and wonderous city. Even after traveling for 48 hours, I still woke up at 5am wide awake because of the time change (13 hours ahead of Mountain Time). And this comes from someone who can never get out of bed until 10:30am!

I started my day with a shower and a little orange lizard joined me! Thought it was an insect at first cuz I wasn't wearing my glasses and when I took a closer look he scampered back behind the mirror. All day I've been waiting for him to come back out and scare me again...maybe tomorrow morn. Then I took a walk around Hoan Kiem Lake and everyone was out doing their exercises...many still in what looked like their pajamas! It's been a dreary but extremely humid and warm day. Good thing it wasn't sunny or I'd melt. Going from intense dry in the mountains to what feels like 99% humidity has made my hair really wavy and full- sort of wish it'd do this back home!

Anyway, crossing the streets here is NUTS! Traffic doesn't follow any rules and even one way streets have motorbikes going the wrong direction. Heck, the side walks are full of motorbikes and it's easier to just walk in the street than it is any sidewalk. So to cross the street you're suppose to walk very slowly and just keep the same pace while the traffic dodges you. And yes, traffic will dodge you but I nearly had a heart attack the first couple times I did it. At one very large and busy intersection an older lady saw that I was a little scared and she helped me get across.

People here are definitely very nice. I really don't feel unsafe or like people are trying to scam me. The staff at the hotel is great and very helpful. They booked me a trip to Halong Bay leaving tomorrow and one guy said that he was raised there and he knows which boats are good.

After walking for a few hours and feeling tired a motorbike taxi offered a ride so I decided to take him up on it. He gave me a wonky helmet to put on and away we went in the opposite direction of traffic, zooming and dodging everything. However, he was a good driver (relative to everyone else here) and I got to my next destination safely and quickly. Often we were wedged between cars, pedestrians, bicycles and other motorbikes while on the sidewalk waiting for someone to move and make some space. Next time I'll video record it.

What is eveyone's favorite pastime while in SE Asia? Massages! I found myself a legit spa because my happy ending does not consist of inappropriate touching. Um, it was still a little inappropriate. This spa is recommended by Lonely Planet as well as top-end hotels here, but culturally, things are just a bit different. I should have figured since that spa treatment I had in Morocco was also a bit strange. So I book a 70 minute deluxe salt body scrub and massage for $35 - cheap! The lady leads me to a room that has 2 massage beds. She tells me to take off everything and put on these plastic underwear. Ok. She stays in the room while I get undressed until she realizes I'm sort of fidgeting around. The language barrier prevents us from understanding each other so it's real awkward. She starts on my back and it's awesome. Literally though, she's on my back and climbing all over the place. Then she gets out the salt scrub and that is awesome as well, until she rubs all my skin off. My legs are next and I don't get the massage before the salt so my leg skin is pretty much non-existant now. Then my arms. I flip over and she does the top of my legs and feet. Then she pulls the sheet down so my top is fully exposed. OH, did I mention that now there is someone else in the other massage bed? I knew she was female, but it was weird. Then I get a full upper body massage - and I mean full. Holy crap! I wanted to laugh and cry at the same time it was extremely awkward! Anyway, I go rinse off and when I get back to the room the other girl in the room was getting the same treatment. Made me feel better that it wasn't just me and they're obviously not modest here. Then the girl (American too) and I both got dressed in front of the 2 massage ladies and we're looking at each other like "uh hi, nice to meet you, uh, or something." We had a laugh about it once we both got to the waiting room.

It's just so strange that we're so un-modest with our clothing in the US and UK. We can wear midriff shirts, short skirts, show a load of skin and it's ok. But once you get women in the locker room, many of us still try to keep mostly covered and private, whether with strangers or family or friends. But here and many other countries women are a lot more conservative with their dress in public, but you get women together in private and they totally don't care.

Lastly, the night market is going on tonight so I had a wander through. Lots of knock-off clothing, belts, cell phone covers, etc. People are blaring both American and Vietnamese music, but probably the loudest song was a pop version of Jingle Bells with a couple little kids dancing to it. Love it!

Off to Halong Bay tomorrow for a 3 day/2 night cruise. Will write again then.