Takin' It Eeeeeeasy

In the immortal words of the Eagles, things have been pretty chill the last couple days.  The hustle and bustle of Hanoi are steadily returning to full throttle, while I've been slowing down and trying to regain my momentum after Cambodia's monumental marathon.

Tuesday was supposed to be simple.  I was going to take a nice leisurely stroll around the east side of Truc Bach Lake and up to the north side of West Lake on a very important mission: find Hanoi Boutique Tailoring (located in someone's house) and start the process of having two dresses made from silk and cotton I picked up in Phnom Penh.  Easier said than done, my friends, as the trek from our apartment to Hanoi Boutique Tailoring was way longer in person than it appeared either on the map or through the balcony window overlooking the lakes.  After an hour and a half of squeezing through traffic, perilously traversing along the edges of deep ditches, and asking eight different people for directions only to receive eight different responses, I made it, tired and frazzled.  But the tailor, Nhung, was very hospitable and helpful, especially considering she had a baby just three weeks ago.  (Bella, and she's super cute! :))  My dresses should be done two weeks from this past Tuesday, giving me a rather slim window in which to make final fittings and adjustments.  I can always get Kyle or Roman to pick up and ship them to the States, but I'm looking for slightly more instantaneous gratification than that.  Fingers crossed Nhung will come through.

The upside to that wild and crazy schlep was that I got to pass through the "Western area" filled with shops with English names and people who look like me...I didn't realize how much I missed that.  I stopped at Segafredo Cafe to rest my weary bones on the way, and discovered carrot cake, which is like a rare-colored diamond over here--it's so hard to find--and espresso granita, which I languidly sipped while thinking of my barista buddies. :)  On the way back, I found a grocery store and scored some Honey Nut Cheerios and Smacks cereals--SWEET!  But I figure it's okay, since I made up for it with eel and rabbit for dinner.

In addition to Tuesday's Western food extravaganza, I had a bacon cheeseburger yesterday.  That's right, I couldn't go four weeks without a burger.  But it wasn't the burger itself that I desired, and thank goodness for that, since I have to admit it was sub-par, even for my low-set expectations.  Rather, I was longing for what the burger represented, something familiar and as etched into my psyche as the American flag, Saturday morning cartoons and the sound of my sister's voice.  I won't say I'm homesick, but neither can I in good conscious say that I haven't been thinking about home and the people who make it lately.

The sun came out yesterday.  Feeling its warmth on my face was just what I needed, and, like a long-slumbering lizard, I was energized by its heat.  I strolled in sunglasses with my face turned toward the sky, a cat on a mission of no great importance without a care as to its success, just simply enjoying a lazy day in the sun.  I managed to make my way to St. Joseph's Cathedral on...wait for it...Church Street.  Compared to other, older cathedrals I've seen, it's interior architecture isn't significant, but the fact that it exists in the middle of Hanoi drew my curiosity, an everyday exoticism.  The Vietnamese government aren't particularly fond of its existence, churning up deep-seeded feelings about French involvement here, but the church casts its impressive shadow on bustling shops and cafes in the immediate vicinity.  Inside, the cathedral was fairly quiet, though, and cool and still, novel concepts for Hanoi and just what I needed.

Tomorrow I'm going to Halong Bay.  It was the first and only thing on my list when I arrived in Vietnam, and the only thing I would have been sad to miss before leaving.  I set out at eight in the morning, take a bus, then I'm on a boat for Friday afternoon and night and Saturday morning.  This will be a solo expedition (Kyle's planning a going-away party for Sunday evening and Roman's...doing his Roman thing), but it's a ten-cabin boat, and I think I can put my quiet shyness aside for forty-eight hours and try to make some short-term friends.  What's the worst that can happen, right? ;)

I'm so excited, and I just can't hide it! :D

Highlight, highlight, highlight...hmmm.  While walking around the Cathedral, I found this tiny little shop that specializes in jewelry made with insects in resin.  The bugs they've chosen are actually really cool and pretty, so it makes you want to take a second look rather than shying away in disgust.  I got someone a present there, a bug bracelet, but that person shall remain nameless so you can all hope and dread that it's for you.