Oh Yes. They do in fact eat that.

Day 2 in Hanoi. Taking a camera battery recharge at the hotel and my dogs are barking from all the walking. Speaking of dogs...........They eat it alright. Pictures on the way and not for the feint of heart.

Day 1 was a blur. Arrived Hanoi 1030 am local time adrenaline pumping. The first thing I noticed in getting off the the very bumpy China Airlines flight; I think the pilot was a student, was the smell of smoke. It was familiar. Fires are lit up all around the city from people cooking in the streets and the smell permeates the air. Not a foul smell at all, sort of like a giant barbeque going on.

Customs at the airport was a breeze. Having been to Hanoi 10 years ago I was expecting progress. But not this much. This country is booming in a big way. 10 years ago there may have been 2-3 Western style hotels and eateries. Not so much anymore. The airport is new. It used to be an outpost at best. Now its a full blown modern International Airport.

Negotiated past all the bandit taxi drivers following me around the terminal, got some local cash, the Dong, that's right the Dong, and headed off to the Sheraton.
I had originally booked a local, very well reviewed boutique hotel in the center of town, and wimped out on it at the last minute and went with the big chain hotel. Thrilled I did. Very comfortable for 50 bucks more per night.

After unloading my gear I headed straight into town and found the astonishingly gorgeous old French Quarter. It was very clear that there has been a tremendous amount on investment in this country as wealth now abounds in what was once a backwater capital city ten years ago.

TBC. Gotta hit the road and hit some more sights. Cloudy and cool overcast weather. Refreshing. Maybe 65 degrees. Light rain and no humidity. Thank god. Out.