Photo Pest: Old Quarter

Bun Cha

An obsession awaited Thom outside the Temple of Literature: motorbike fashion.

You certainly didn't have to look hard to find it.

I told Thom the Lonely Planet guidebook insisted it would be "criminal" to leave Hanoi without trying bun cha. President Obama ate it with Anthony Bourdain. The route to the recommended sidewalk vendor did nothing to persuade Thom to change his mind.

Garbage collection tech doesn't come any lower.

Repurposing is a way of life in Viet Nam. The Viet Cong delighted in using French and American military debris to make goods that could be used in the fight against the occupying forces.

Early diners, mostly young and local, crowded the alleys in the heart of the Old Quarter not far from our cramped hotel, the Golden Silk Boutique.

Thom remained skeptical until we reached the restaurant and found this just-engaged Australian couple. "Is it OK to eat in the street?" he asked, seeking independent Caucasian verification. "No worries," said the woman. "We've been doing it for more than a week and haven't gotten sick yet. Everything is either boiled or cooked."

"Not the greens," I said to myself as we added them to a delicious broth that contained rice noodles and barbecued pork.

More Viet Nam:

Third World Theme Park

I'll Have a B-52! And a Mint Chocolate Chip Cone!

Wedding Photo Backdrop

Old Quarter Stroll

Thom began our walking tour with a manicure. Who could resist the $4.30 price, including tip?

Never again. I prefer DIY although the manicurists could not have been lovelier. Or more surprised.

Younger Vietnamese flashed frequent smiles.

Older ones not so much.

I couldn't tell if this sign was tongue-in-cheek or indicative of local parenting.

Streets take their names from the kinds of products sold. Occasional shrines with colorfully painted guards interrupt mostly cheap-item commerce.

Poverty and sanitary conditions in the crowded Old Quarter repulsed Thom. "Dirty!" he exclaimed when I pressed him to eat the street food for which Hanoi is renowned. He can't understand why the rest of world doesn't live like Americans.

Although it looks like some Vietnamese are trying to, which is odd, because EVERYONE is thin. "That's because they probably have diarrhea all the time," Thom speculated.

Peasant women sell flowers and fruit from their bikes.

Caged birds are common.

We caught this pooch in the act of a blow-dry.

Cats are few and far between.

Sunday in Hanoi

Jet lagged, we began our post-Thanksgiving exploration of the Old Quarter astonished by ever encroaching signs of capitalism in the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam.

The mostly white (and young) tourists thronging the narrow streets reminded me of the European backpackers of my generation. We never slept this well!