Cigarettes, Bia Hoi, Ho Chi Minh and stupid phone.

Well, the evening started off quite well yesterday when I went to buy cigarettes at the cafe across the road from our hotel. Nobody spoke english so through sign language and showing them a box of Marlboro Lights, we eventually got the message across that I was after cigarettes. So the nice lady shows me a display carton with four different boxes of cigarettes in it, so I point out the gold ones that look kind of like Benson.  Then we have to try to communicate the price and she shows me a 50k dong bill which is very cheap, about 3 dollars. Great deal! It turns out I bought the whole carton with a free lighter thrown in! All the people in the Cafe were in hysterics at this stage. Then we went around the corner for Bia Hoi the cheapest beer in the world, we went and sat at a little table, now I mean little little little lilliput table with lilliput stools you would give to a two year old, but this is what all the vietnamese people sit on. We were the only foreigners there so we caused quite a stir, the waiter thought we were hilarious and decided he needed to stroke my face (no idea why).  Whe we sat down people took it in turns to come over and stare at us and the were all in fits of giggles at us, we were the entertainment for the evening, it was very funny. The beer was lovely but then at about half nine they just suddenly started closing everything up, which was just as well because we had to get up early. (beer was 32K Dong, which is 2 dollars! Solenn just reminded me it comes out of a bucket)

A Dragon

We did the touristy thing today and went to see Ho Chi Minh who was the Vietnamese Leader.  He had wanted to be cremated and scattered over the united Vietnam but for some reason they decided to embalm him so it's a bit thing to go and view him.  He is in this big Mausoleum where you have to queue for ages and be very respectful. They take your bags off you and you can't take any pictures inside the mausoleum.  I turned my phone off at this stage to be respectful and now it won't turn back on again. Typical. Then we walked around Ho Chi Minhs house and gardens and that is lovely, there is a lovely Pagoda there where lots of people were praying.

A Pagoda on the lake

I got separated from the girls when I was taking pictures and this Vietnamese family took a shine to me, feeling my hair and looking at my photos and stroking my arms! And of course more hysterical giggles.  It took me ages to get away from them, but they seem to find the white skin-blue eyes-blonde hair thing hilarious.

We went back into the city then to book the Water Puppets which is apparently one of the things you must do in Hanoi but it was booked out so we won't be doing that.  There are lots of women going around in the little pointy hats carrying fruit in baskets hung off a stick over their shoulders, which I thought were really cute. Sure enough one of them spots me and shoots over and throws her hat onto my head and gives me her baskets for a photo. Of course like a fool I was delighted with this, thought it was great and made the girls do it too......and then it was payback time.  We had to buy fruit off her a big bag of pineapple and bananas for 100k (twice the price of 80 cigarettes plus free lighter!). Caroline didn't want the fruit so was going to giver her a tip and you one stuck her hand into Caroline's wallet and took out the money! That was all my fault of course so I am not allowed to talk to anymore people on the street.

Altar at the One Pillar Pagoda

Bia Hoi!

Caroline before the "voluntary" contribution

Hanoi at night

Harrods of Hanoi

Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum

On the red bridge

Traffic in Hanoi