Tossing and turning

Trip Start Aug 04, 2009

Trip End Ongoing

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Where I stayed

Pearl Hotel

(Hanoi hotels)

Flag of Vietnam Hanoi, Vietnam
Friday, August 7, 2009

Well friends after a restless night I awoke to the sounds of honking horns. Such is life in Asian countries, then I again I faintly remember those same sounds in London some years ago. I awakened at 6 am warmed water in my trusty water pot and made some tasty Nescafe instant coffee - yes I said 'tasty' and 'instant coffee' in the same sentence. I had a cup of 'ca phe sua da' (Vietnamese coffee with ice cubes and condensed milk) yesterday but this morning I'm opting for the hot version.
My yoga friend Kathy gave me a book of Positive Quotations that she quickly interjected that "I didnt need them" but today and on occasion if you read a positive quote here they may just be from her book.Todays quote seems pertinent considering my difficulties yesterday getting food and just basically being understood.
"The 'how' thinker gets problems solved quickly because he wastes no time with futile 'ifs'

Lake at park

. Norman Vincent Peale
Well I don't know the language here and I'm in the midst of VN speaking peoples who don't know my language, so time to do some problem solving so I don't go hungry today. For the worriers in my friends I did eat yesterday... like one of my students - cookies, crackers, some fruit - the dragon fruit was a tasty treat - and tea. Today I will track down Pho - a soup with rice noodles, basil, bean sprouts, lime, peppers. Hopefully I will find what I seek. I need to get grasp on the money too - yesterday I exchanged $50 and got 875,000 VN dong - 'don't hold back on this one Pickle I laid this one out for you'.
We are in the midst of monsoon season and it does look cloudy outside so it should be interesting. I brought a rain jacket but the downpours can be torrential. I'm trying to avoid using taxi's because I find it hard to grasp where I am and what's in "my neighborhood". So I will traverse on foot, rain jacket around my waist and a map in hand and try to get to the neighborhood where my school is Van Phuc in the Ba Dinh district. I have photo-ed a map to give you an idea where I am staying and where school is.
The Pearl hotel is across the street from a small free zoo, lake and amusement park. I ventured out into that park last evening. There were a fair amount of people out walking and lots of people trying get me to rent a bicycle or motorbike or buy a VN magazine. There are these funny looking geese to paddle around the lake in and the rides look fragile and old as if you weighed much more than 30lbs the ride would break.
I guess its time to shower and make my way into the city - I'd like to do some apartment hunting today also.

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Duck duck goose	Bridge close up	Lovers in the park	Inside of dragon fruit
Street traffic	Rush hour	Map of the area	Before
During	After

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Comments

kwai_chang on Aug 10, 2009 at 04:22PM

Stay dry
First of all, I think those are swans (chim thien nga? I'm tryin'!), not ducks and geese. Secondly, anyone who is really your friend would never actually 'worry' about you eating. 'Eating' is your middle name. I've, personally, never known you to miss a meal. You eat more naturally than you breathe. Anyway, I didn't realize that 50 bucks would get you that much dong. Nice place. Perhaps that's what the lovers on the scooter in the park are actually doing...exchanging dollars for dong. Perhaps you could offer them a little dong to borrow their scooter. Okay, okay.