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I arrived in Hanoi today.  It's a LOT hotter than Saigon - in the 90s.  I was feeling kind of run down yesterday, but for some reason hot weather always makes me feel better.
I reserved a 2-day boat trip to Halong Bay for tomorrow and the next day.  A junk (type of boat) takes us around the bay and then we spend the night on it too.  The bay is supposed to be very beautiful  - big limestone towers rising straight of the water.  Also, it should be a little cooler out on the water.

I'm regretting that I decided to spend more time in Saigon than in Hanoi.  Hanoi seems more interesting - much more culture and history. There are a lot of old temples, an old quarter which really does seem like it's in another century and lots of french beaux-arts architecture.
The trip here was less than ideal.  I wanted a window seat specifically so I could watch as we flew over Vietnam - and got a seat over the wing.  Right near the end of the flight, the woman sitting next to me threw up - partly on my bag.  It's funny, I was very sympathetic (probably because I can relate!), but the man on her left said nothing and gave her disapproving glances.   I wondered if this was a cultural thing or just that the guy was a jerk?  Then, I got a taxi agreeing on a set price to go to the city.  When I arrived, the taxi driver tried to make me pay double.  I refused.   I've actually experienced none of that kind of bait and switch since I've been here - which is surprising when you consider the people are desperately poor and we tourists are so in and out that there's little accountability for services which are often very informal (e.g. I haven't seen any established Vietnamese 'chains').

Woman praying at a temple in Hanoi:

Stelae of candidates who passed the national exams over the centuries in old Vietnam.  They are placed on carvings of turtles because turtles symbolize wisdom:

As a nerd myself, you have to appreciate a culture which chose its leaders and bureaucrats based on their performance on a standardized test of literature and the classics.  Vietnam used the same exam system as old China.  Every year, candidates would sit for a several day long test at the temple of literature in Hanoi.  This is one of the courtyards of the temple.  It's more confucian-inspired than Buddhist:

It was so hot in Hanoi that the city only really seemed to come alive after dark. Then, the whole city came out on the street - presumably because it was too hot inside and no one had air conditioning.  Whole families ate dinner on the sidewalk.

Umm, delicious:

  Everyone stayed outside talking loudly until past midnight.  Meanwhile, all the young people cruised the streets on their motorbikes - apparently just to see and be seen.