Vietnam is the first country I have traveled to alone. Korea and the Philippines don't count. Yes I was scared but was more excited.
After a long day of traveling from Cheongju --> Incheon Airport --> Taiwan Airport --> Hong Kong Airport and finally --> Hanoi Airport, got my visa, bag, saw my name on a sign and taxi-ed for about an hour before I got to my hostel. I left Cheongju at 5am and arrived in Hanoi at about 9/10pm. The moment my taxi arrived in front of the hostel, another taxi pulled up in front. What are the odds that the guy coming out of the taxi would be the same guy that was in front of me while waiting for my passport to get stamped... why didn't the hostel just put us both in the same taxi? Checked in. 3rd floor all female dorm. Chatted with the ladies, they were getting ready for bed. Was pretty sad b/c I wanted to go and explore this new country and I was far from being tired/sleepy.

Adrenaline running, went downstairs to check FB. I know. I had to let the world know that I made it safe and sound. To my surprise, the guy from earlier was there. His name is Valentin. Took me a while to get his name right, maybe it was his accent I was having some difficulty understanding or my lack of not being exposed to French accents as much (most likely this reason). We both were excited to be in Hanoi so we went exploring and managed to find the Hoan Kiem Lake. I would like to say that we became fast friends and I miss him. The lake was/is populated by couples. Very romantic at night. Valentin bought some fruits which we decided was mango and some other thing. That 'other thing' was not good at all. Walked around the entire lake, beautiful.

Somehow stumbled upon the night market. So many people. So many shops. After walking a good length of the market, decided to head back to the hostel. Valentin wanted to ride a cyclo. You basically sit on a little cart while the driver paddles behind you. Our driver spoke little English and I think he maybe thought we were on a date. He kept saying how I should have 10 kids. We got him to bring it down to 5 kids. And by then I stopped paying attention b/c I was crackin up inside. We got off a few blocks from our hostel b/c he wanted to take us elsewhere. He kept following us for some time and eventually left. I blame Valentin. Haha j/k It was an eventful ride, one that I will never forget. That photo below is the only photo we have together and it was taken while we were riding the cyclo.

It was still early by the time we got back so we decided to grab some Bia Hoi (beer) from the lobby and head upstairs to the patio. Somehow ended up playing chess. Yes, lame. And it was a Saturday night too. But who can blame us? It was our first night and there was no one at the patio. But still, it was a pretty nice night. Valentin let me win the chess game. =]

How do you cross the streets in Vietnam? I have no idea. There isn't a specific way to do it, just do it. With confidence.