I ought to be dedicating whole sections to food, currency, language and transport. There are literally thousands of motorbikes on the roads here and to cross the road is an adventure in itself. Yesterday we went to Halong bay and the guide there told us that at least a 1000 people die every year from motorbike accidents. He said that motorbikes are so precious here that when lovers escape to the banks of the lake to kiss they kiss with one eye open. One eye to feel the kiss and the other to keep an eye on their bike.
Food is another huge deal here and there are once again thousands of things to try, taste and eat on the streets and in the markets. Everything is food, from delicious mangoes and paw paws to worms and creatures I can’t even imagine where they come from or what they are called. There is something for everyone’s taste buds I guess…..from the wonderful to the weird. And where and when and how they prepare it is also a whole culture on its own. All day long women walk around balancing on their shoulder baskets pots of hot water, noodles and vegetables; others set up with small little stools and everything else they will need, on pavements and in corners and everyone gathers on around on these to sit and gossip and eat.
Currency, wow, I think my mind has stopped working. I am not a millionaire. Everything here is American dollars!!! or in Vietnamese Don…$1 is 16,000 don and a pound is 30,000. There are 100,000 don notes and 5000don coins. After so many languages and so many different currencies and I know I still have more to go through….my mind feels like a big jumble …..but a nice jumble.
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