day 28 - second day in Hanoi - 13.09

Last night we had huuge drama at the hotel. So we come back from town at around 22:30, we get to the room and switch on the lights. I walk in first and as I pass the little hallway and get to the room it seems to me that something was moving on the far end on the wall. Walls and ceiling panels are white, well they were white long time ago I should say. Anyhoo, the moving object had run from behind my bed across the wall where a table with a mirror on it was standing. By that time we had both jumped on a bed and were holding shoes in our hand to kill the bastard if we'd see it again. I was sure it was a cockroach, but I was absolutely devastated, because it was huge what I saw moving on the wall.

So then brave Riina goes and moves the table and of course there is movement and it shoots across another wall that is shared with the bathroom and goes and hides behind the coffee table. Oh we were screaming like no other. And again, we could not believe how big the cockroach was - not even big but long. So we stood there for a while then tried to move the coffee table - nothing. We were already imagining how they have made nests in our bags and moved in with whole families there. So Riina takes the insect repellent and sprays all our bags and also the corners of the rooms where we thought the animal had escaped to. We sneak into the bathroom very carefully and inspect that - nothing. So we get back to the room and sit and wait. After a while we see something coming out from behind the coffee table - I see a head - it is a lizard! I'm relieved of course as lizards are quite harmless, i was so relieved that we did not have a cockroach the size of my palm walking up and down the room here :) But nonetheless - we were not happy to share our room with a lizard.

I managed to take some photos of the lizard and we headed downstairs to the reception with our evidence. There was nobody there who spoke any English, but they looked at the photos and giggled, then sent one guy with a stick up with us. It seemed so normal to them, like it would happen every day and that it should even be this way. So he came and poke around with his stick for a while - nothing moved, no lizards nothing, so he took off. We had no choice but to get back in the room and try to get to sleep. There were tiny lizards as well besides the bigger one - they were just walking about and doing their thing. We left one of the lights on so we could at least see them when we wake up at night covered in cold sweat because of the lizard nightmares. I ended up sleeping quite well, but Riina was monitoring them all night and did not get much sleep at all.

This morning we contemplated on moving out - but that seemed like too much hassle, besides we are leaving tomorrow early morning anyways. So we stayed.

During the day we did the walking tour in Hanoi that was suggested by Lonely Planet - it was nice, got to see quite many different faces of the city. One of the coolest places was house 102 on Pho Hang Bac. It was just this tiny hallway leading in, I could barely fit in the hallway since both my shoulders were touching the walls on each side. At first it seemed that we were had arrived in somebody's kitchen but we just proceeded going inwards and then we found what we were looking for. Locals downstairs waved us upstairs and there was a fully functional temple. One other narrow staircase led even higher - on the roof there was more of the temple. We were the only explorers there - it was really neat and peaceful and quiet and yet magnificent.

It is so darn warm in here though :( It is almost painful to walk on those busy streets during the day with all the exhaust and running engines right by you. When walking then we are looking for shade and even that is almost unbearable, being in the sun can be handled only for very small periods of time. To cool down we need to go somewhere inside where they have air conditioning - it is very hot here.

Before taking the walking tour we bought tickets to the water puppet show. Our show started at 18:30. As the travel guide explains the ancient art of water puppetry is originated with rice farmers who worked the flooded fields of the Red River Delta. This art form is at least 1000 years old. Puppets used are carved out of water resistant fig tree timber and colored with glossy vegetable based paint. The considerable skills required to operate the puppets were traditionally kept secret and passed only from father to son, never to daughters in fear that they would marry outside the village and spread the knowledge. Show was great, it lasted almost an hour and had separate musical show and everything.

In the evening we packed like crazy as Riina is leaving on the 14th and I needed to put together my beach bag for 4 days :D