Hanoi, the capital city and street food capital of Vietnam. I was in and out four times before taking my flight to Bangkok, as it was central to all the places I wanted to visit in the North. The town is modern and an absolute traffic disaster. You feel like you are playing -frogger- with your body every time you need to cross the street. I was staying in the beautiful old quarter near two lakes so I did not have to venture too far too often. I spent most of my evenings at Hoan Kiem lake ( lake of the returned sword) where they have the 'turtle tower' (see cover pic). Legend has it a turtle stole the sword of emperor Le Loi and brought it down to the bottom of the lake never to be seen or retuned. So they built the tower for the thieving turtle. It's a daily social gathering around the lake, whether its Zumba, having coffee or old men socializing, it's always full of endless people watching opportunities. There was also a 'falang' watering junction in the middle of the old quarter, 4000 dong (20 cents) for that strange tasting wonderful draft. Outside of the old quarter I was a bit of a tourist and when museum hoping. First the women's museum. I must say it was great, not only because I'm a woman, but it showed throughout history how the Vietnamese women have been involved in the economical, political and social growth of the country. Some where only 15 when they were making influences on national levels. These women were strong, still are. It also explained current tribal traditions and 'urban' family life. You really look at the street venders in a different way knowing that most get up at 3 am to go to the market, to get the pineapples which they sell till 10 pm, living four hours away from home, just to feed their children, which they barely get to see. Even if they try and charge you 15 times the regular price, they live a hard life and his museum opened my eyes and brought back the compassion that I sometimes forget about when bargaining. Next, The Hoa Lo ( hell's hole) prison, built by the French when they were in power in the late 1890's and used to hold Vietnamese political prisoners under terrible conditions, torture and did brutal executions (didn't touch the atrocities that occurred at S-21 I must say). Later the prison was used to hold American soldiers captured during the war. Surprisingly, despite the torment the United States brought upon this country, the prisoners had quite the treatment. They were given personal items, had communal Christmas dinners, the right to send and receive letters form their families, sports, parting gifts and clean cloths for their flight back home. Interesting how people treat people... Also a to Hanoi without going to the water puppet show at the famous Thang Long theatre would be incomplete. It was interesting, beautiful and kinda creepy. It did have a good story line, but those little smiling faces with paint chips bouncing around... creepy. Lastly, a sweet man that a friend and I stayed with brought us to Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum. That's right, uncle Ho, the most respected man in Vietnam, who died in 1969, his body is still on display. I must say, he looks pretty good for being dead that long. Also interesting and kinda creepy. The home stay itself was nice as well. This very sweet man invited us to join him and his friend at a outdoor food court for lunch and then back to his house for a couple nights. He treated us like family and introduced us to his. Home cooked meals and our own room. So kind. Vietnam was frustrating at many times, more scams here then anywhere iv been so far. Leaving with mixed feelings, but overall relieved. It is a beautiful country though, a lot to offer, but, different kind of people.