5th day in Hanoi

We are officially in Hanoi. It has been a vibrant 5 days already and have accomplished a lot considering the overwhelming of the new, the heat/humidity and getting situated.

The flight was pretty flawless and we were very lucky to have an empty seat between Michael and I for the entire journey. That empty seat became the princess seat for Liu Ce. Speaking of....she did very well. It was a very long journey for all of us and impressed with her toughness. I highly recommend Korean Air....great service and comfortable.

Our hotel for the first four days was in the heart of the Old Quarter. This area is intense with life. It is organized chaos and utilizing every bit of space possible. Concerned Liu Ce would be afraid and howl, we walked her around in our arms EVERYWHERE. She is a hot little doggie to carry in this weather and is quite popular. I do not think people here see this kind of a dog or a hand held dog at all. I have felt like a circus freak ever since I set foot here. We have had to put a stop to all the petting and attention Liu Ce gets. Most people do not know how to pet a dog and do not ask first before hand. Liu Ce has gotten scared especially when people poke and pull.

Even with my decent sense of direction, I have gotten so lost in this area. The language is difficult...impossible...and almost everything in the streets look the same at this time. Adjust of the new, adjust of the new.....

One reason we moved to Vietnam was because it was supposed to be so cheap. We have been shocked at prices for food and goods being as expensive as Seattle. It largely depends on where you go and clearly the Old Quarter is a wide variety of options. Online searching from other people's mistakes and successes has helped, though we have had OK meals that are pricey and exceptional meals that are cheap.

Highly recommended and soon to return for quality of food, service, price:

Rising Dragon Villa Hotel (Trip Advisor recommended. Very friendly staff, comfortable room, great breakfast)

Nola Cafe (very hard to find, but worth it for roof top deck, funky, great food)

HIghway 4 (several locations, great food, prices, make own fruit liquors, ice creams)