i guess i'm in new territory now

In Vietnam now. But first a couple words about HK. Sure as hell a lot of food there. I did some good hiking and trekkin about town the first few days, but after some blisters hindered any further exercise, I found myself eating way too much. Well, I've um, 'taken care' of the blisters and I'm in a totally new place now. Hanoi is pretty intimidating at first. The whole place is like a giant Mod convention. Never seen so many scooters on the street before, it's like a constant parade. At least they're not as intimidating as cars when you're crossing the road though. Just walk and dodge.

I also unknowingly became the victim of one of the hotel touts. The 'minibus' that picked up some of us at the airport (I get the feeling quotation marks are going to be pretty common in my posts here) took a Vietnamese gentlemen to his hotel (Sofitel), but after giving the address to the driver, we were taken not to the place I booked a room, but to what I have to assume was a hotel of the driver's 'friend' (whaddid I tell ya about the quotes). After protesting, I was told that my hotel was part the hotel guy's sister's place. What a coincidence, eh? Yeah right. Well, I was taken on a scooter ride to what I thought would be the address I gave, but of course, it was yet another hotel, maybe the guy's 'sister', who knows. In the end, I took the room, it was the same price, was on the top (5th) floor and relatively far from the scooter convention but still central. Had a beer and a smoke (Marlboro Lights USD$ 0.80 or 13,000 dong, in case you're keeping track).