Posting from Cafe Trung

I am settled in at my favorite outdoor cafe, where the scooter choked streets and pounding of construction is alleviated only slightly by being off a smaller street. The coffee is delicious though and  that's a benefit as we are forced to update the blog from a remote location beyond our apartment. Seems the internet provider there is the State and as such blocks all access to unsavory blogs like ours. Oddly enough we can access it via a proxy server, but it is far too slow to bother with, so I'll just feed my caffeine addiction while I amuse myself here.
Liz and I are still hunting for that perfect apartment that has the best of Hanoi, set beside a lake with gardens, terraced areas and balcony. We are willing to settle a bit but have the unsettled feeling that there does exist such a place, or close to it, and so far we have passed on the dozen or so apartments and houses we've seen. The temporary apartment we are in is a good place for now. It is on the second floor of an eight story apartment building in the heart of what is described as "cuisine street". It is a pedestrian walkway lined with food stalls and restaurants serving all types of delicious Vietnamese dishes.
We are getting used to the market at last. Learning some of the basic prices for staple items, bread, eggs, beans, tofu and coming to grips as various fish, pigs, cows and dogs are eviscerated along the way.
We are off tomorrow to the south for a week to visit the ancient city of Hue. Liz has a program site visit nearby. I am looking forward to seeing more of Vietnam.