Good Morning Vietnam

Finally caught our flight to Hanoi, Vietnam. A 3 hour trip, arrived safe, and quickly dug out our socks and jackets. Brrrrrrrrrr , 10 degrees celcius. When we got to our hotel a scammer named Ken told us our hotel was booked and that their sister hotel had a room available. We checked it out, it looked OK and checked in. Then we dropped our bags off and headed out to explore this city. What a pretty sight it was as we walked around one of the city's lakes, lined with trees and a boardwalk. Checked out many little shops, enjoyed some people watching and took in the sights. The Vietnamese not only manufacture the clothes but put it together with a great fashion sense. By comparison Steve and I are dressed like a couple of country hicks which of course we are. Went out for supper and stumbled upon a fine french restaurant, went through their wine list and shared 6 different reds, yummy! It's been a few months since we've had this kind of selection at a decent price! The food was fabulous and the owner came over after dinner and gave us a congac to finish. Yum Yum.
He noticed my bright red CANADA jacket and is apparantly from Vancouver, small world!!! We meandered back to our room, had a nice sleep and were fresh to enjoy day two. "Good morning Vietnam." Next on the agenda was to purchase train tickets to Central Vietnam. Steve using his bartering skills had our rickshaw driver lower the price if he let Steve do the pedaling. What a funny sight, I laughed all the way, pedestrians were laughing, motorbike drivers and tour buses alike were all laughing. Probably not a common sight. Once we got to the train station to purchase tickets we needed to get a little extra cash as they do not accept credit cards. Our one and only remaining card got eaten up in the machine ( we started with two each but some bugger has been using Steve`s so we had it cancelled). Steve and the rickshaw driver went to a local branch, while I stood guard wishing for the machine to spit it out. No luck there. Steve returned and we were to go the main branch in the morning and our card would be there. So we did, low and behold the teller whips our card out of her purse, Steve comments on her supposed shopping spree, they laughed and helped us with our withdrawal. Next it's off to pick up train tickets only to be told they were sold out and the next train would not be available for three days. Back to the hotel to see if Kenny the con could hook us up. Steve told him we were aware of scams, wanted no part of it, and had him write a receipt. After a couple of hours he brought us the tickets for the next day, hurray!!!! We both had a feeling (not a good one), so we took our tickets to another agent and she sadly informed us that we had been ripped off. Kenny the con charged double. Next we walked around the lake to collect our thoughts and make our next move and that it was. Back to the hotel to pack up and exit stage left. We did not paid for our room and all they had was our passport numbers. Well what a sight and noise it was in the lobby. Kenny the con said he got the tickets on the black market. Steve called bullshit, went into a tirade about the travel agents comments with a little misdirection about supposedly talking to the police. Kenny didn't try to follow and out the door we went. Around the corner we conveniently booked a room at Freedom Hotel. And that it was, great little boutique hotel, nice staff, breakfast included, all for $30.00...Priceless. Back to the fab french restaurant run by the Canadian for another great meal. Tomorrow it's off to the train station.