Bia hoi!

Ho Chi Minh Museum closed on Fridays!
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The only way I can describe the city of Hanoi is comparative to a very complex river system. It's an non stop flowing system of streets and alleys that somehow lead into many main highways in and out of the city. At first glance it is intimidating no less, but the more time you spend figuring out how it all comes together into one massive force of never ending energy you can only help but truly appreciate it.

My second time visiting this sleepless city was partly due with the hopes of recovering a forgotten camera I had left awhile back. Once I arrived at the Hotel I had lost all hope when the young man I spoke with previously on the phone, who I had told I would be back to recover the camera, told me he knew nothing of the camera I had left. To even further tell you how shady this Hotel is when I told him to look in the books-showing all the guests that have stayed in the past month-I had been mysteriously erased with no record of me staying at the Hotel, hhhhhhhhmmmmmmmmm. After the first night being completely saddened by this news, realizing I had just lost a month's worth of photos throughout parts of Cambodia and Vietnam I had too quickly recover by detatching myself from this whole ordeal. I also came to the conclusion that getting mad would not help the situation even though inside I was infuriated. I actually thought of getting the cops involved but decided against my better judgement as the cops would most likely laugh at a scenario such as mine.

German war propaganda
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So back to Hanoi and all it's craziness, moto filled streets, shady Hotels, and rich history of culture. I spent the first couple days trying to get to the northern province of Sapa but found out the $20 one way train ride was out of my daily budget. So I decided to save some money and learn the street system of Hanoi by walking. This allowed me to quickly learn how to get around with no problems but only because I spent a lot of time getting lost. Honestly the confusion truly lies on the fact that most of the street names change after only a few city blocks which makes it extremely hard to navigate for the first time-WTF? The only helpful way to get around is realizing that most of the French Quarter-where I stayed-is organized by what shops sell on the street. On one street you will find store after store of candy followed by store after store of clothing followed by store after store of herbs and well you get the picture. Another useful way of navigation is using the lake of Hoan Kiem Lake central to the Old French Quarter district.This Lake is a savoir when you get turned around constantly by all the confusing alley ways and narrow streets.

Inside the Temple of Literature
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Once I explored outside of the area I was staying in I found out just how massive the city of Hanoi is. Streets became more wide with huge districts opening up to it's monuments, museums, and parks. One day I walked to the Museum of Army War and the Museum of Fine Arts. Another day I stumbled upon an Independent Cinema strictly screening Vietnamese based films. This cinema reminded me of the last time I was in Hanoi and spending it with two fellow American travelers Tutu and Eve. We tried to find this cinema one night but do to the tiny sign on the side of a huge old gate off a main street we stubbornly walked past it numerous times before realizing it was too late to see the show.

ho Chi Minh Masoleum
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But this time I was able to screen three movies spread out over three days. One being Indochine, an epic must see movie about the French occupation in Vietnam. I had always wanted too see this movie but never made the time for the 2 1/2 hour long duration of the film. There was something very special about watching this movie in a Independent cinema in none other than the country of Vietnam.

Another great discovery is the many street corner shantys that sell cheap beer. They usually consist of a keg in front of a small store and a few very tiny plastic chairs. Here you can enjoy some excellent light lager beer for 20cents a glass. A couple guys-one being American and the other Austrailian-that have lived in Hanoi for the past ten years fear that these little beer stands will disappear due to the 'new taking over the old' mentality. I hope not because this is a great place to relax, drink a couple of cheap beers, eat some peanuts, and people watch.