I had a beautiful run this evening around West Lake; today was warmer/wetter than it has been all winter, and felt a lot more tropical, but the breeze coming off the lake made it the perfect temperature for a sweaty run.
Along with listening to Dr Dre on my iPod and imagining that I was a G, I amused myself with all the quirky stuff I saw on my way round. The teenage boys with mohawks, doing wheelies at 60mph on any straight stretch of road, aren't big and they aren't clever, but they do look pretty cool. The rats under my feet are my rodenty friends; the bat that flew splat into my forehead scared me and was not a friend (I thought they were supposed to have a good sense of direction?). The old man on a bicycle who decided to to a U-turn on a busy stretch of road, without looking, pretty much got what was coming to him when a motorbike rammed into him and they both went flying down the road (I think they were both ok though). There was some event at the pagoda, and hence many gold sparkly things for sale, many big plastic money-pigs, and many people in my way who did not understand my need to pass. Today I did not see the pot-bellied pig who sits by the lake, but he is usually a highlight.
I made a new friend towards the end of the loop around the lake, when I was glad for an excuse to give up running. His name is Hop, and he is vice director of a wood panelling company - quite a catch. He didn't speak English, and he spoke Vietnamese very fast; I understood about 20% of our conversation, including the bits I said. We ate pho and then sat on a bench, where we talked some more using words I don't know. I think I've become quite accustomed to perpetual confusion, and so I enjoyed the meeting very much. On Saturday we're going to go for a walk! (At least, I think he said 'walk'...)
Actually, I am currently in a very difficult situation. The reason I left England was because I wanted to travel. Now I'm about to quit my job, I've got the funds and the lack of ties such that I can go anywhere I want...but I want to stay in Hanoi! I don't know what to do! I'm like Buridan's ass (donkey), who got stuck between two bales of hay because they were both the same distance away, and he couldn't make any rational decision to choose one over other. And that donkey starved to death. HE DIED. Now I'm in his situation. Life is so hard.
