Streets of Hanoi

I have literally walked all around the entire city of Hanoi and am ready to move on.  The streets are starting to get busier again and more and more stores are starting to open, but still there isn't a lot to do here.  Today Anna, Sabrina and I walked to Ho Tay or West Lake.  The lake was really pretty and the oldest pagoda in Hanoi sits along the edge of it..  So far it's been the most beautiful and well-maintained pagoda.

We found another Vietnmese restaurant to try some different Vietnamese dishes for lunch.  We ate some really tastey spring rolls with beef and cilantro - so simple yet so good.  They use a lot of cilantro here which I love!  I'm always a little nervous about eating the beef or any kind of meat in these places in case it might be dog.... ugh.  They actually rasie dogs to eat here.  The thought is totally repulsive.  Maybe it's time to become vegetarian.

While we were there we met this really lovely couple from England, Ann and Allen. They were staying at the Sofitel Hotel, a really nice hotel on West Lake.  They were telling us of the great view of the city and of the lake from their hotel.  The plan was to go up the the rooftop to see the view but it was closed so we saw the view from their hotel room.  I know, how random (and something I wouldn't have done if I was on my own, don't worry).  But they were really sweet. And Sabrina is a police officer so it was all good.  The view was spectacular (the pictures don't do it justice) and the conversation was great.  I almost didn't think we wouldn't get out of there because we were chatting so much.

I've enjoyed being in Hanoi for a while however I'm definitely ready to move on. There's part of me that really wants to stay in one place, really get to know an area by really living there. But I've been in Hanoi for just a week and a half and I am already bored.  Maybe it's because of Tet and there's really not much to do here or maybe it's the guilt I feel that I wouldn't be taking advantage of being in this part of the world and seeing as much as I can. 

I'm still trying to figure out what I really want out of this trip and the time I'm spending away.  I'm not sure how Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat. Pray. Love) didn't go out of her mind of boredom staying in one place for so long!  The month long Yoga course in India shall be interesting!  Am I going to be able to be stay put for that long?  In a tiny town with not much else to do but get my chakras aligned? Oh God, who knows!?

More soon...
xo