HAPPY NEW YEAR!

To the 2 or 3 people who actually read this BS, all the best to you and yours for 2012!  Since only 3 of you have accessed the site in the last week and a half, Mr. Corona will be on sabbatical for much of the rest of the trip.  Catch you later amigos.

Back in the Bang........kok again!

What is the primary difference between Bangkok and Hanoi?

1. NO HONKING!
2. The taxi's move faster in Bangkok than any airplane (or anything) in Vietnam!
3. NO HONKING!
4. Singha beer not available in Vietnam.
5. NO HONKING!
6. Hardly any scooters!
7. NO HONKING!

You get my point...Bangkok is huge...a lot bigger than Hanoi, but it seems so much quieter!  I don't know how Cassandra finds these hotels, but it's very nice!  King size bed, air, wifi, flat panel tv...indoor toilet...NO HONKING!...oh, and Singha beer!  We had some great street food...squid with preserved egg, and chicken with basil...oh, and Singha beer!  We sat there for 45 minutes, and only heard one honk...HEAVEN!!!!! Nobody tried to sell us anything other than the food we ordered...nobody tried to run over us with their scooter, or pedal cab...nobody singing karaoke badly in the street...and NO F'N HONKING!!!!!

Goodbye Hanoi...

It's not that I don't like Hanoi, really.  Hanoi is a microcosm of Vietnam in one city...it's modern....sort of, it's growing...but pretty much all western in direction, and one thing is for sure, IT'S F'N INTENSE!!!  It's everything, all the time...ON STEROIDS!!!!  As a visitor here, it wears you down...and out!  There is still a war going on here...it's a war to get attention.  Everyone wants it...selling you...driving (scooters and cars) at you...walking at you...it's REALLY intense!  I leave Hanoi tired, yet curiously exhilarated...it drains you, and jacks you up at the same time.  It's like my second grade teacher, Miss Sargeant...she was hot!  I had a woodie before I knew what a woodie was!  But I couldn't focus...I had all these feelings...ALL THESE FELLINGS!!!  Hanoi is like Miss Sargeant...she's exotic, beautiful, sexy, seductive, alluring, and mysterious...but I'll be damned if I know what to do with her!

So today we went to the infamous (by American standards) prison, the Hanoi Hilton.  Cassandra hates doing stuff like this almost as much as I hate shopping!  Scratch that...she didn't hate it THAT much.  Anyway, we went through the cleaned up version of the most notorious prison before Guantanamo Bay...Hao Lo prison.  The French just called it...

...the Central House.  The used the guillotine here into the 50's.  Kept over 2000 prisoners in a prison designed for 450...and then the American war...and the "Hanoi Hilton".  Here is how the French kept the prisoners...in leg irons...

...this was the light level at 3 in the afternoon...sure looks like a fun place to spend some time!

This time tomorrow we will be on our way to Bangkok, and soon, the southern beaches of Thailand.  Anyone envious?...to hell with ya!!!!  HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

I'm UP......................and I'm O........K!

At least as good as I can be after my well orchestrated face plant.

Cassandra says it's improved my nose immeasurably!  I never thought noses coming out of ears would ever catch on...but what do I know?  This is a face post...I'm a little leery about sidewalks at this point, but grudgingly ventured out this afternoon...and the pedal cab guys are all making fun of me...some guy hand signals me today "way to go moron, if you'd gone with me, you wouldn't have THAT face!!!  HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!"...I didn't think that was funny...even though I laughed...

Started out with another beauty...

...and my second MAN!...

...and these 2 to finish up the walk....

I don't get these Vietnamese...either they are happy, laughing, and pointing...or they are all sad when I come around...can't be me....

Mr. Corona goes DOWN!!!

Christmas Day...a lovely, sunny day in Hanoi!  We went to the midnight mass last night...the cathedral is only a couple blocks from our hotel.  There must have been 10,000 people there...they even had closed circuit tv for those who couldn't get inside!  Obviously we couldn't get inside...

...and this lady got a lot of attention...

...a bunch of local kids were having fun...

...when they saw it was Mr. Corona taking their picture, they went nuts...they all wanted pics with me!  I love my fans...did I tell ya I'm big in Vietnam...well I am!!!  They went so nuts they wanted pics with Cassandra too...

...Cassandra documented the scene...

 ...then they mobbed me...

 

  ...they love Mr. Corona!!!  Today, we went to a temple of wisdom...I didn't get it...

...on our way, another Hanoi beauty...

...then off the the Museum of Fine Art...they had some cool statues...

...the museum was the former French Ministry of Information...

...nice building eh?  We were walking back to the hotel...lovely, sunny day...and WACK!!!!... BITCH SLAPPED BY THE SIDEWALK!!!!!

...don't worry amigos...no big deal...broken nose, fat lip, maybe a shiner...I got worse when I went toe to toe with Ali in the alley.  The fans still love me here!

Christmas Eve in Hanoiland!

Holy crap, amigos...it's CHRISTMAS EVE...and we're in Viet F'n Nam!  I still  have to pinch myself...we've got Christmas music on, but somehow it's like we are on another planet...or maybe it's the scotch!  It was a rare sunny day today, so we went for a serious walk around Hanoi.  The opera house is pretty serious...

...the opera house is in a pretty flash area...

...and lot's of high tech..

...the emerging wealth is especially obvious here...but right across the street was the Museum of History, and there was a sign of the old days...an old Russian limo...

...still, lots of places to see and be seen...

...in a park up the street, it was like we never left Vancouver...kids skateboarding...

...there is a lake in the centre of Hanoi, and in the centre of the lake is this shrine...

...just off the main stroll, we found this Superstore with 8 containers of stuff stacked up in front, and a makeshift elevator to access the containers!!!  Mr. Corona thought maybe he's had too much to drink when he saw that one!!!

...and just outside, another flower delivery...

...another great wall...

...and some of the best faces yet!

...and a great old guy!  SURPRISE!!!

So amigos...Santa comes tonight!  I hope he brings you everything you want...for some of you, in the form of a blow-up doll!  Merry Christmas Eve!!!

Welcome to the neighbourhood!

Hola amigos...my temp name is Mr. Bia...ya, like beer if yer British!

...I expect you know it's been a long time without me being really pissed...well, I got news fer you...I'm still not pissed...but I'm working on it!  Yeeeeeeeeeehaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!  See Uncle Ho on my shirt...me and old Ho are good buddy's now.  I can hear it now...he's buddies with an old Ho...haha...lame.  So, we got the boot from our nice hotel because we hadn't planned so well, and ended up in a slightly different part of town...kind of the Rodeo Drive of Hanoi!  Very upscale...but I didn't take any pictures of that shit...I like the other stuff...like this guy...

...and this..."the conversation"...

...a flower delivery...

...they like bright, shiny things here...and lots of it!...

...if you get hungry, how 'bout a heaping plate of grubs!...

...oh yummmmmmmmmmmm!!!!...a few chili's, some antibiotics, barf bag...yer set to go (to the can!)...in this neighbourhood, you can REALLY see the French influence...

...and we found this great car sitting outside our hotel...

...Hanoi is a GREAT place to buy yer Xmas lights...

...very convenient commute to downtown Hanoi via the rail...

...the railway is about 1 block from the big Cathedral...Mr. Corona might crash the Xmas mass...HAAAALLL-E-LUUUU-YAAAAA!  Now I'm rollin'...

...this great street vendor was right outside the church thing...

...and it wouldn't be fitting post without a Hanoi beauty!

...later amigos!