We flew into Hanoi late in the evening on April Fools Day. We quickly found that there was nowhere to change money and nobody had heard of an ATM. We found a shuttle to take us the 30 km to the city center that accepted dollars. Unfortunately when we walked up it was already full. Little did we know the vast difference between our perception of full and theirs. After we got in the minivan they loaded 5 more people on, to a total of 17 passengers. 13 very comfortable Vietnamese and 4 very uncomfortable Westerners. They have a way of fitting into small awkward places and looking like they are in a lazy boy. We on the other hand, do not have this gift. We took a trip to Halong Bay at the far northern end of the country. It is famous for the towering rock formations scattered throughout the bay. (These extend into southern china and are the centerpiece of many chinese paintings) We took a 3 day boat trip there and enjoyed seeing the landscape and the lifestyle there. There are lots of floating villages, fishermen, and oyster farms scattered around. The floating houses even had dogs running around, what a strange life for a dog! (Although it is even stranger that he is eventually destined to become dinner for some special occasion. – more on that later.) There are literally hundreds of small bamboo boats on the water. You see them doing everything in them: fishing, selling things, transporting goods, sleeping, cooking, taxis, etc. It is such a different lifestyle! One of the highlights was climbing to the top of a hill on an island and looking out over the bay, breathtaking (both the climb and the view!). Then we went and spent a few more days in Hanoi waiting for our Cambodian visa. Hanoi was bustling! It was a similar fine art for crossing the street as in Bangkok. Very few cars, but muffler to muffler mopeds. And they all take off the rear view mirrors because they maneuver so close to each other that the mirrors will get knocked off anyways. Thus they have no clue what is behind them. To remedy this, everyone honks constantly. It really is a joy to be around, especially when you are trying to sleep. Back to the fine art of crossing these streets. Unlike in Bangkok, they don’t slow down when you are in front of them. They gauge where you are going and swerve around you at full speed. Thus if you stop, you may well get creamed. However, it felt safer here. At least if you get creamed, it will most likely be a motorbike, not a car or truck. And the other benefit of both places is you never have to wait to cross the street, there will not ever be a break in the traffic, just go. After Hanoi we took a 3 hour train to Ninh Binh (only 93 km!). There we did a day trip with a couple of guides riding on the backs of their motorbikes. We cruised around the countryside where there are more of those towering rock formations, only these jut out of rice paddies instead of the sea. We got a good view of life in the countryside. We saw people with pigs tied on the backs of their motorbikes, a kid standing on the back of a waterbuffalo as the buffalo swam down the stream, everyone wanted a chance to yell “Hello” to us, people with unimaginable loads strapped to the sides of bicycles, and of course, rice farmers galore. We loved seeing the country that way. Again, it is all so different from what we are accustomed to. After that we spent a few days in Hue and Danang. There we did a day tour of the DMZ (De-Militarized Zone that divided North and South). That required a lot of imagination to appreciate the significance of what happened there and what it was like during the war. There were many bomb craters, now they are filled with water and look like perfectly round ponds. The vegetation is still struggling from the herbicide used during the war, but not knowing what it looked like before, it is hard to appreciate. Continuing South our next stop was Hoi An, which is situated along a river. This is the most quaint town we have seen. There are no tall buildings and it has a small town feel. It is very artistic. Many of the residents make their living painting, carving wood and stone, and making clothing. It was nice to see that all these activities are very lucrative for them because of tourism. We had some clothes tailored here. Good quality and very cheap. Chad got a suit for only $25! It was fun too. They measured us from every angle and we could pick any fabric and any design. They made all the clothes overnight and we tried them on the next day. If something needed an alteration they carted it off on the motorbike and came back 15 minutes later. It was amazing.