Vietnam, Part I

Hey all my readers!! So here I am in one of the cheapest Internet Cafes in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam. This is just a brief update - I am here with my PARENTS! It is a blast. This morning we were in Halong Bay, considered the Eighth "Wonder of the World" which was awesome - we went along in a boat with other SAS parents/students and got to see some amazing limestone formations in the middle of this bay. Yesterday was a travel day to Hanoi from Saigon (aka HCMC but no one calls it that) and then a 3.5 hour bus ride to Halong Bay. Meeting my parents in Saigon was the best thing ever, I had a huge sign for my Dad that read "Happy 50th Birthday Dad!" and I held it up when all the parents arrived, then got my friends to sing him Happy Birthday. Of course, he was embarassed, but it was so much fun. Spent the day exploring the insane streets of the city...if I said that India was insane, multiply it by 10 and you've got the streets of Vietnam!! I loved it. Did a lot of very, VERY cheap shopping, bought shoes that fit me right off the rack, and when we get back to Saigon from Hanoi on Thursday I'll be picking up the dress I had tailored! It's so exciting, this is why I love huge cities. They are nonstop from morning to night and there is way too much to do, hear, see, and eat. According to my Tourism professor, I could fit anywhere, "even into a rabbit hole" and yes, I definitely fit in here except that I stick out with my blonde hair and I keep getting asked if it's real or not. The $1 t-shirts are my favorite, I have the infamous Tiger Beer ones as random Vietnam ones. Next... the CHEAP North Face backpacks and who knows what else! Currently, my parents and I have skipped out on the Water Puppet Show and dinner with the SAS trip we are on and are exploring Hanoi, where we just walked down "Electronic Street" and "Shoe Street"...saying there was a lot of those items is an UNDERSTATEMENT. It's mindboggling, I don't even know where to begin. All the streets in the Old Quarter are named according to what is sold there. It's awesome, I am sitting here typing this, listening to the incessant and never-ceasing honking from the cars and scooters (or simply "Hondas" as they are called here) outside and hey, my Dad just brought me a pastry that is similar to a pancake that is drenched in chocolate. Mmm...Time to eat!! Don't get run over by a scooter, but if you walk in a fluid motion across the crowded streets, they will avoid you like a river flowing around a rock. And yes, it REALLY does look like that!! :) I love boycotting SAS excursions...