Day 28

Sunday—Free day!  I started out the day by heading to church.  The cab driver we had couldn’t find the address we gave him, so a drive that should have taken 30-45 minutes ended up taking about 75.  He stopped and talked to at least a half a dozen people (the best of which was when he woke up another cab driver to ask for directions).  We finally found church when we spotted a white man in a suit driving a minivan.  We told the cab driver to stop, I jumped out of the car, ran to this man’s window and asked if he was LDS.  Turned out he was and so he was able to direct us to church.

After church we ate lunch, and headed back to the hotel for the afternoon.  Most of us had homework we needed to get done.  For many of us, this afternoon was the first afternoon so far this trip they weren’t out sightseeing.  As we get closer to the end of the trip, we’re starting to realize how many things we have to get done before the trip is over.

Following this respite, we went to the water puppet show down by the lake in central Hanoi.  The bright colors and fluid movement of the puppets made the show very enjoyable to watch.  While the show wasn’t exactly what we expected, it was a lot of fun to get out and see a part of the Vietnamese culture we wouldn’t have seen otherwise.  Plus, the band that accompanied the show was fantastic.

We ended the day by wandering around the local markets and getting dinner.  The place we ate seated us on an outside balcony.  It’s absolutely amazing to me how hot and humid the city is…even at night.  Thank heaven for ac!

-Stephanie