VIETNAM - Hanoi, Tuesday 22nd May

I awoke yesterday morning to a cheery wave from the little girl in the bunk opposite me as we rattled through lime green rice fields, tinny musac being piped at me from hidden speakers. It was 6.00am, but at least I'd had some sleep. The evening before, my fellow travellers and I journey down the train, past increasing uncomfortable-looking seats, stepping over bodies, to the 'dining car' (a couple of tables and some boxes) for some beers. It was soon bedtime for the staff though so we crept back to our compritively luxurious quaters and retired.
We arrived at Hanoi at around 11.30 and were swept into town by a hopeful hotelier. Slightly guiltily, I accepted a very smart room complete with shiny bathroom (the irony of the 'American Standard' wash basin, juxtaposed with the red flags a fluttering outside made me smile) and cable TV. Still, for the equivalent of 4 pounds, I thought I could manage it.
We spent the afternoon exploring the Old Quater: Narrow streets packed with motor bikes and shops spilling out onto the pavement. Each street has a theme, be it sunglasses, shoes or toys, and is named accordingly. Frustrating when you are looking for sunglasses but all you can find is pipe cleaners. In the evening we sat out on the street on little plastic stools and sipped very cheap beer from a keg and watched Hanoi bustle past. When in Rome...
Today my friends departed for Halong Bay, I had to forgo the trip as I'm running out of time - always a problem - and so I set solo off to see some of the sights. My trusty Lonely Planet firmly pointed me in the direction of the Museum of Ethnology and so I dutifully headed out of town to see what it was all about.
Aside from offering a welcome sanctury from the growlings of a dissappointed moto driver, who was determined to over charge me, it was rather wonderful. A huge modern building divided into sections dedicated to the different ethnic groups that make up South East Asia and the history of their migration from different parts of the world. Outside there sprawled several examples of different villages, packed full of artifacts. They must have invested a huge amount into the museum, you could spend days there.
I departed, however, to have another argument with a moto and headed to the Ho Chi Minh Museum. A massive Art Decco pile of concrete and marble containging an imposing hall with a gold Ho Chi Minh saluting me as I climbed the stairs. There were some bizzare, stylised displays of ideology, most of which, being in Vietnamese, was lost on me, but I got the jist.
The Old Quater is built around a lake. Futher inspection of the lake I found myself at this afternoon after being dumped by another moto (grrr) revealed that it was infact the wrong one. Still, it was very pretty and surrounded by little cafes so I explored the leafy streets of this more affluent area for a short while before taking my final moto back to the Old Quater for a cup of coffee and spot of re-grouping.
As I was on my way to visit a restored Chiese-style house I heard my name and turned to see some people that I met in my last night in Hoi An. So that is my how-shall-I-kill-this-evening problem sorted.
Tomorrow I fly to Bangkok to be reunited with one of my fellow volunteers and head south to the Islands for some Full Mooning. At this rate I'm going to be Oz before I know it...