Off to a good start with a long and somewhat restful trip on EVA airlines - two decent hot meals and a personal movie screen so I could watch movies (The Perfect Host with David Hyde Pierce, Too Big to Fall (about the fall of the investment banks, and a Chinese movie, The Piano in the Factory), when not eating or dozing. Arrived in Taiwan for a change of planes only to be met by one of Taiwan's favorites. (see pictures). Thought about calling home or even sending a postcard after the inspiration of the postal history of Taiwan in the waiting lounge, but no change and no stamps). Finally assured the planes was departing, I was on to Hanoi (and another hot meal on the plane). The driver sent by my hotel,, was late getting to the airport so some interesting exchange with some cab drivers in the interim, but after one crazy ride (Vietnamese driving is beyond compare) I arrived at my hotel the Hanoi Serenity. I noticed driving in that many building have small footprints and then just go up and up. So it is with the hotel, Up five floors of steep staris to #403. Room is fine with everything I need including refrigerator, its own computer, bed, TV, and bathroom, breafast in the AM, and 24 hour tea and coffee that I can go up and down those stairs for - all for <$20/night. Bathroom is interesting, has all the right equipment, but the whole bathroom becomes the shower with a shower curtain to pull across the door and a switch that needs to be turned on 10 minutes in advance to get the hot water here. Got settled and took off to explore. The hotel is on the edge of the old quarter so had an introduction to street scenes and traffic as a pedestrian as I made my way to the Museum of Fine Arts and Temple of Literature, a Confuscius Temple. The MFA has some interesting old Buddhist and Cham (Hindu) sculpture, but most of the art is past 40-50 years, all selected by the government. Much of it is dreary in color and with the exception of one area devoted to the theme of providing education, almost all the rest was related to either the military or socialism/collectiivism. I guess pictures aren't allowed, but I didn't know that. Am posting one that really got to me, "The Birth of a Soldier," Walked up to the Ho Chi Minh museum (closed by then) and saw the HCM mauseolum (closed for seasonal repairs) and I think Uncle Ho's body is on some tour for others to view it. Trying to cross the streets is a challenge. It is best done at a cross walk with a walk signal, but even there no guarantees. The cars and motorcycles and mopeds are in no lanes, cut in front of each other, dart around pedestrians while blasting their horns. At one point I was on the sidewalk at a corner with some Portugese tourists waiting for the light to change when suddenly we heard the blast of horns and a team of mopeds were up on the sidewalk heading straight towards us! After making a wrong turn walking back and realizing I was passing a hotel I had seen about 20-30 minutes before, I got back, hiked up the stairs to "refresh" myself and then went to dinner at Highway 4, recommended by the hotel and nearby. Shortly after I ordered another single woman came in and sat at the table across from me. I invited her to join me - she is a social worker from Australia, also just arrived today, so we had a good eschange about our travel plans, etc. My food was not very good. The restaurant staff recommended the cashew chicken - chicken was tough and dried out, sauce is much better in Chinese restaurants in U.S. Then the staff from her hotel came in and shared what they ordered, house specialties, frog legs cooked in butter and a caramelized pork dish, much better. Some other hotel guests treated them to some sort of liquor made fron passion fruit that they shared, had the bouquet sort of like sherry, but tasted like "fire water." Now back to the hotel, working on this, and about ready to crash.