The day started with the Ideal Hotel breakfast buffet. No eggs for me today, but Vietnamese bread, fruit, and some tasty Vietnamese morsels such as banh xeo (A type of crepe made out of rice flour with turmeric, shrimps with shells on, slivers of fatty pork, sliced onions, and sometimes button mushrooms), spring rolls, and tofu, and coffee, tepid at best. Mr. Tranh and a new driver for today showed up again at 8:30 this AM to start the day's adventure. There was...

I woke up this morning to the first day of a wet Hanoi. Rain arrived 3 AM I was told. Packed everything up in preparation for leaving for the evening. had breakfast (one of the banana pancakes with honey), some papaya, and coffee and then took a cab to the Museum of Ethnology. There are some interesting exhibits about the lives, customs, dress, and homes of some of the different ethnic populations in Vietnam. I took careful notes to be able to label my photos, bu...