Teachers' Day

Yesterday was Teachers' Day which, unlike in America, is quite a big holiday over here. It is a day to thank and show respect to your teachers, and it's an important holiday to many people.

To celebrate the holiday students visit their current and former teachers, give presents (usually flowers), and - the best part of all - teachers get the day off to rest and relax. As a teacher I must say it makes you feel pretty special.

Things You Only See in Viet Nam

Cyclos

One of the "not to miss" things the tour guide books like to mention is taking a ride in a cyclo. A cyclo, for those who don't know, is basically a cart attached to the front of a bicycle. This is just one of the many ways that the guide books are way off. Would you want to take a ride in this?

In case you're wondering what's being loaded in there, well that's a big pile of grease. Dirt, bricks, various dirty building materials are all common cyclo cargo.

To be fair, the cyclos in Hanoi are a bit nicer, but to me there's something a little too lazy about having some poor guy cart you around town. And, strangely enough, the only people I've ever seen in them are fat, lazy looking tourists.

Snake Wine

Yummy.

Also available: monkey wine, bear paw wine, sea horse wine (just to name a few).