HANOI

August 23

HANOI. Needs to be in all caps because you should be yelling it.  HANOI is crazy!  There are no rules here!  There are barely even grocery stores!  Motorbikes go the wrong way on the sidewalk.  They go in herds in the wrong direction in the street, swerving in and out of traffic and through red lights like they don’t even exist.    Six way intersections.  Blind intersections, and one of the streets is a market and there is no one directing traffic, just hundreds of people in a  dance of madness, sidling around each other honking, people crossing the street at a crawl so as not to disturb the stampede.  It’s a zoo.  For reals.  Women set up shop in the middle of the sidewalk, placing their bamboo baskets with the wooden pole that they carry on their shoulders on the ground for a brief respite.  Those things are heavy.  These women are strong.  Pregnant women carry babies wrapped in mosquito nets…a rather odd sight until they smile and you remember the glory of womanhood…and the hardship.  Went to the Women’s Museum today and was incredibly inspired at what the women here have done, overcome, endured, and plain lived through.  I bought earrings at the gift shop – I wanted the purple ones, but I asked the woman at the counter which ones she liked and she told me the brown ones…for the sake of womanity, I bought those ones instead.  A beautiful moment!  We, although we are not the same, share so many enduring qualities that I will forever be proud of.  Drank some coffee after that and almost got ripped off, HANOI is pretty good at that…making me check myself like I always should.   I don’t like bargaining for meals, but it happens.  You can bargain for everything around here!   I got dressed up, wore my new woman earrings, got complimented by the hostel staff and took myself out to dinner and a show.  Traditional water puppetry – it was very cultural and amazing how the puppeteers maneuver the puppets in the water…I still can’t figure it out.  Then off to some Indian food, Vietnamese beer, and the exhilarating mind-jog of a walk back to the hostel.  A great day.