Today is our second full day in Hanoi. It is amazing here! There are people everywhere and the city is very dirty. Here are a few interesting observations I have made:
Asian people are all short. I knew this before, but I wasn't expecting to suddenly be as tall or taller than so many people! This is a first for me.
Also, Asian people are skinny. But so far no one has called me "fatty" so that's good.
Crossing the street here is like playing Frogger level 10. There is LOTS of traffic, mostly all motorbikes who don't follow any traffic rules (but at least they wear helmets). The first time John and I crossed the street he grabbed my hand and just started walking. There was like 5,000 motorists zooming by, and I seriously thought he was trying to get us killed. I tried to run and he grabbed me and said "you have to go slow so they have time to swerve around you!" Oh my gosh!!!!!!! I can't believe I'm still alive.
The next day we actualy rode on our own motorbike. That is another story!
There are lots of poor people all over the city. Many women make their living selling fruit and vegetables out of baskets they hang from either side of a large board balanced on their shoulders. They all wear those pointy straw hats that I remember from the movies. There are also a lot of ladies who set up little tea stands on the road. They sit on a little stool and have a little table with cups and a pitcher or tea. The table is surrounded by other little stools (like stepping stools we use for little kids). People come and sit for a cup of tea. I also see men who have a "shave and haircut" stands on the street. There are lots of men just sitting around doing nothing all day.
The market is full of all kinds of food that I have never seen before. Lots of fruits and vegetables. We are in a more tropical climate here so I lots of fruits and veggies grow everywhere. Yesterday I saw whole roasted ducks for sale, with the eyeballs and the beaks and the feet all still there. YUK! I also saw whole fishes fried, pig feet, and lots of disgusting sea animals. I lost my appetite for a while!
The food is super cheap on the street. And delicious!! (As long as I just order a bowl of rice and vegetables.) We had a hearty lunch of rice and veggies the other day for 60 cents! Last night we went to a real fancy Indian restaraunt with three other people from church and ordered tons of food that ended up being less than $4 per person! In the US our meal would have been at least three times as much.
Ok, I gotta run. I hopefully find a way to post pictures soon.
3 comments:
Congratulations on still being alive! Oh my, it sounds like you're going to have quite the experience there.
AND, congrats on the job in Atlanta, too!
Wow! What an experience you two are having. I hope you are keeping a journal or is that what blogging is for? Grandma was thrilled to hear what you had written. She will talk about you all day now. Take care of yourselves. We love you.
I was definitely the fattest woman almost everywhere I went in China. When I saw a truly obese American couple on the street, once,they were like a circus sideshow...and they weren't freakishly overweight.
Hope you're haivng an amazing and wonderful time.
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