The Heart of the City

Hoan Kiem Lake is about 1 mile in circumference and constantly bustling with life.  It is the heart of the urban setting providing a green space escape for many of its residents.  This morning I headed out for a run around 5:45am not expecting to be joined by thousands of other Vietnamese!  Tightly packed in, I weaved my way through so many walkers, joggers, Tai Chi groups, Zumba dancers, fan performers, and even a section where the young men had turned trees and park benches into a weight lifting area!  How creative!  Hanoi is the capital of Vietnam and bodes around 6 million people.  We are currently staying in the Old Quarter which has silk shops, jewelry, traditional architecture, street sellers, and motos abound.  The building structures are wall to wall lined up next to each other with about a 7 foot width extending the majority of space to the back.  It's easy to spend days just strolling the city.  So far we have visited the women's museum, water puppetry show, Cathedral, and Ho Chi Minh City Masoleum.  Ho Chi Minh's body lies in a stone complex open to visitors to view.  We did not expect to wait in line for an hour to see someone's body!  Funneled through overhang walkways outside, we waited in line as if it were an amusement park in the rain!  People were dressed in their finest and guards carrying large rifles with bayonnettes surrounding were plenty.  No cameras were allowed inside and they were very strict to keep you moving right up next to the person in front of you.  Approaching the doorway, my apprehension grew for what I would see.  Why was everyone so excited?  I was hushed the moment I stepped foot inside the building, climbing a few staircases with the rest of the silenced people.  We turned the corner and eerily circled a glass casket with Ho Chi Minh lying inside.  4 guards stood at each corner making sure no one stepped out of line.  Others lined the wall moving us along disallowing you to stutter for even a moment.  Finally we emerged and gathered our belongings to look for some rice and veggies and fresh sugar cane juice found for a dollar on the streets.  The street food is mainly plenty of noodles, soups, rice, and different kinds of meats including dog.  We are preparing for our 3 day boat ride at Halong Bay, one of the Unesco World Heritage Sights known for its limestone cliffs/mountains shooting out of the water and over 3000 islands.  The limestone in this bay ahs been forming for 500 million years.  It will be my first time sleeping on a boat so I can only hope for the best!