15k of walking in a new city: What a rush! Everything is different. Everything is interesting. Everything is starting to make sense. The drivers here have to learn a whole new set of rules if they go to the USA or anywhere. There are swarms of mopeds, cars, trucks, street vendors, all with nonexistent street signs. Also, I have to say, no dogs. Hmmmmmm. Wonder why? When you cross the street on foot, you just have to go. Don't stop. Or else. We took a little bit of time getting used to the procedure, but after a few crossings, it was fine. The Vietnamese have developed a whole different street etiquette. It works with minimal street lights and I think it moves people more quickly.
Today we were in search of a camera charger. Somehow in my packing frenzy at the river town of Pakbeng, Laos, I left the little guy in the wall charging with a battery. I realized this 2 days later when I woke up in the morning. Not happy! Unfortunately, the camera is a new model, and the chance of getting a charger would surely be impossible. Well, maybe. But in Hanoi, this is just a simple dilemma.
In the morning, after breakfast, I asked the hostel crew to help me out. I had a few phone numbers for Canon dealers in the city. After joking and expressing my dire need for this charger, we tracked down a place that said they had the exact model. From there, we set off on foot the 4k to the shop. Upon arrival I thought to myself, there is no way this little place has anything new or of any help. When we entered the 15'x15' shop, I first politely asked if they spoke English before babbling on about my technical problem. The guy looked at my camera and the model number and went into the cabinet. He pulled out a bag of 15 or so of the exact charger! I was in disbelief. Then I asked if he had a battery. He asked if I wanted a real Canon one or a fake one. Hey, at least he is honest. I compard them and we even plugged them into the wall. I forked over 700,000 Dong, which is about $15 US for the 2 items, thanked him profusely, and we were on our way. The collaboration of the hostel staff and the camera shop dudes sure left me with a good impression of the Vietnamese people. Thanks!
From there we stumbled into a high end mall obviously for the Hanoi elite. This place had all the top designers from the USA and Italy. Since most of the stuff is made here in Vietnam, shouldn't it be a deal? Not in this mall. They wanted $95 US for an Addidas golf shirt made in Vietnam. Some of the shoes were quite spectacular in design and the price reflected that as well. The mall had AC which was great at this time of day, so we sat down at a restaurant. Then we toured the top floor which was one of the coolest arcades we have ever seen. It was clean and the were adults as well as children playing. Everyone looked so serious as they played. Kinda funny.
The rest of the walking outing took us all around old Hanoi. We saw more shops and people. One thing that stands out is the women with the pointy hats selling various items from baskets. These baskets are suspended from a stick with one on each end. Somehow they navigate through all the traffic and get where they need to go. They are always alone and are quite nice. Their work and diet keeps them fit and slim. Some might be 100 years old. You would never know because they age so well.
Out on our walk, we came across the Hanoi Opera House. Out front was a banner advertising a concert with the symphony. They were playing a concert that night and the next night. On the program was Mahler and Wagner. I thought that they would surely be sold out, but they were not. We got tickets for the next night sitting front and center. That was new to me, to actually sit in the lower orchestra level. Tomorrow night will be killer! Most orchestras in the states are on holiday and for us to stumble upon this is an opportunity not to miss.
We were super tired getting back to the hostel. The friendly staff greeted us with water and asked us how the day went. They were surprised how far we walked and let them know how happy I was to get the charger.
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