Highlights from Hanoi

Hi gang. Nicole and Ashley here. Sorry it's taken us so long to post any of our adventures...we've been on the run from day one of the Trottier reunion. So here's our impressions of Hanoi...this town starts early. We know this because one morning we had from about 5:30am to 8am to kill (between out of town adventures). We spent these few hours at Hoan Kiem lake which is right in the center of town. If you think Americans are exercise freaks, think again. We have nothing on these people. From dawn onward, people gather at the lake to partake in anything ranging from tai chi to badminton to jazzercise to pom pom routines to sword fighting to weightlifting. But they also have a range of individual excercises that have captivated us, our favorite being what we have named "fart wafting." You stand facing the lake and continually swing your arms back and forth, as if to chase away last night's Indian food. This is not to be outdone by one performance now known as "The Fonz," or one we discovered today called "Praise the Lord" by a woman whose lipstick was so badly applied, she may earn a starring role on HBOs True Blood series. We opted for the 80's aerobics class conducted in the shadow of a Ho Chi Minh statue. After about a 30 minute workout, we still have absolutely no idea who was teaching the class, where the music was coming from, or who was calling out the directions. But we were sweating none the less. Sidenote, after about 25 minutes of Vietnamese pop songs, Nicole was impressed to realize we were working out to Boney M's "Rah Rah Rasputin" song that we learned in 10th grade history class while studying the Russian Tzars.

Another highlight for the girls was the traditional Vietnamese Water Puppetry show. Brian insisted on the 9pm show to ensure our "1st class tickets". These elite seats at the premium price of $3.50 not only guaranteed us the rights to take photos, but also included an actual cassette tape of the music. (Which 3 days later, we were devastated to discover we had forgotten to pick up). Now this may not seem a huge loss, but we had already started out plans to re-enact this tradition at the 2009 Trottier garden party. Picture this...hand crafted Vietnamese water puppets operated by newly skilled puppateers (that's us) all in Kay's kiddie pool. Brian has already claimed the role of the narrator, "Uncle Tueh," and since we forgot our cassette has already taken it upon himself to write a few songs which we are positive would offend even the nicest of Vietnamese. But seriously, the girls loved it, and Brian and Nicole are going home with actual puppets.

One thing you have to get used to here right away is traffic...it's insane and crossing the street can be a death-defying feat. The strategy here is basically to close your eyes and pray for the best, keeping in mind that getting hit by a motorbike will hurt less than by a bus, so it's best to run out in front of the bikes. We conquered this fear early on; however, there is one thing in Hanoi that still terrifies us. We are positive there is a serial killer on the loose whose signature is a single playing card...or sometimes half a deck. You cannot walk more than 20 feet here without seeing a playing card or two on the street and we just can't figure it out. (This is a serious violation coming from 4 people who have spent the past ten days in a very competitive euchre showdown). P.S. Nicole would like to state for the record that Ashley has become a serious contender in a euchre game. She is a serious gamer now. So much so, that she has earned the new nickname Ashley "Minohar" Johnson...Minohar being the person we know most dedicated to the game and to its development on the Indian subcontintent.

Here's another thing. We knew we were coming to a communist country. But nothing drove it home more than the fact that each morning we wake up to loud speaker announcements (much like the anonymous workout lady instructor) which after several inquiries we learned is how the city receives it's local newscast. And it happens again in the afternoon...we can't understand it, but we are, of course, convinced it's rife with propaganda. As a complete contrast, this town is freaking out about Christmas! They love it! We have spent lots of time wandering the old quarter market which is divided up into sections of goods. So "shoe street" sells shoes. "Dried fruit street" sells dried fruit. "Memorial plaque street" sells headstone plaques, including one with a picture of Britney Spears that proclaims her death in 2005. Anyway, in this market, we actually stumbled upon "Christmas Street" which is so big that Kevin is certain it's actually Christmas Town. The whole thing is littered with the tackiest of Christmas decorations...tinsel, chintzy santas, and christmas lanterns. Of course, in the background to Christmas Town are the women in conical hats selling all their wares...Pho, homemade donuts, pigs feet, a stack of bras, and boxes of worms. I bet you are all looking forward to unwrapping our gifts.

I guess that's about it for us. Stay tuned for Kevin and Brian's take on our trips to Sapa and Ha Long Bay.

Oh and thank you Kay for the lovely Christmas shell. It was absolutely perfect for Sapa. You will find out why when you read Kevin's entry!