Autumn in Hanoi (Final Pics!)

Hanoi in October is absolutely beautiful. I really can't say enough about how much I love this city. Now that I am in Saigon, and have been learning all about North Vietnam and South Vietnam's history, it gives me chills a little bit that I feel this way. Then I think to myself, "it's okay, times have changed." It still is an interesting, almost surreal mix of emotions. 

The day after my adventure with Stone, I ventured out in the Old Quarter of Hanoi again by foot. There were still a few parks and museums that I wanted to make sure that I didn't miss! Fascinatingly, I was IN Hanoi on October 10, which happens to be Vietnamese Victory Day (from the French in 1954). In the morning I was woken by the sounds of horns and parades, but there wasn't much else going on besides that. When I walked outside, there were red flags and banners everywhere. 

I just wandered around alone, and took a rest at the peaceful Hoan Kiem Lake. While I was waiting, two Vietnamese students approached me to practice English. They were lovely, and we took a walk to the Women's Museum together (they'd never been). I treated them, and we had a great, educational morning together. It's adventures, and people like this that make traveling so magical.

On my walk home, Andrea and Dan ran into me...in Hanoi! Sometimes it really is such a small, small world. In the evening, Stone picked me up to eat scorpion for dinner. We drove south of Hanoi, but couldn't find any. We did, however, find killer bees! We shared a lovely dinner of fresh vegetables and killer bees for dinner :)!

I just love the flower sellers

Perfection. I bought an embroidered piece of art

with this image on it...I always want to remember this.

Flags on every street in Hanoi for "Victory Day"

Flowers :)

Some kind of concert commemorating the anniversary 

of the Vietnamese victory over the French:

10/10 1954 - 10/10 2012

The fanciest, French-est KFC I have ever seen

Hoan Kiem Lake

I want to be this couple someday :)

(Also, do you see the "turtle pagoda" in the far back?!)

I was sitting on a bench alone under the willow branches, 

eating a fresh croissant when I spotted these two Vietnamese

college students poking each other and pointing at me. I knew 

that they wanted to come over and say hello :) Sure enough,

 they approached me and wanted to practice their English. 

We spent the rest of the morning together at the Women's Museum :)

They asked these two girls to take a picture of us, but instead

these two (on the right) wanted to be in the picture with me haha!

Ho Chi Minh poster (holding a child close to him)

Vietnamese Police 

Vietnamese School!

(I, obviously, was very interested in comparing to Thailand!)

My two friends with their English notebooks

adorably writing down every new word. They were

very good at English! One of their names is "Thu"

meaning "Autumn." (I don't remember the other name!)

Inside the Women's Museum, I was approached to be 

interviewed about the museum! (Who knows for what ha!)

So funny :)

These are all different "lamps" made by women during

the Vietnam American War from various items such as

a cowbell, an ink jar, etc. (Very creative...)

Snake and Beef Testicle for lunch...

Can be prepared so many different ways!

I opted for Vietnamese Spring Rolls. The sauce

(top right) was sweet and amazingly delicious.

A barber shop set up right here on the sidewalk :)

Pet Shop? 

No... the back of the restaurant. It made me sick to see

the cranes, doves, and other exotic animals that were caged 

alone (looking very sad) that you could pay to eat for dinner.

My last dinner/ goodbye to Stone. From top left: Cucumbers, 

peanuts, greens, fried killer bees, tomatoes, pickled bamboo

Stone! I miss him haha

Fulbrights in Vietnam! (And Dan, Andrea's boyfriend!)

Dan, Andrea, Katie, Me