of mice, strings, and cyclo drivers

I can't remember what my last post was (because for some reason my blog page is unaccessable) but regardless, i've been having a really good time in Vietnam (despite my utter frustration with the vietnamese today---see cyclo drivers for that rant)

I spent 2 days in the Mekong delta, 1 day and a half in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City), 2 days in Hoi An and now I'm in Hue.

So:

MICE- hoi an is the vietnamese capital of having things tailor made for you. Literally the shops line the streets and you cannot walk anywhere without someone calling you into their shop or seeing a cute dress you might want. I, like all other tourists in Hoi An, took advantage of the situation and bought a plethora of new things for myself. (I don't know if I've ever in my life bought myself so many things). But the funny part about it all is that the people in the shops are all kind of just sitting around. but you go in, pick out your fabric, tell them what you want, and they say, OK, come back in 5 hours. HOW does it get done?

and so i must conclude, that the hoianeese have had a good dose of cinderela in their lives and thus it's the mice.

STRING - I somehow got convinced by this woman in the market that I needed a pedicure. It was about 8 dollars so i said, ok, fine (My heels had grown a layer of dirt that was not removable by shower so i figured i needed it) She took me through windy streets to this little alleyway and a tiny shop where she proceeded to scrape (with a razor edge) my feet. and then paint them. and THEN when this was all done, she started to unwind a string. and then somehow wind it around her hands (a la cats cradle) and then with this piece of string she started plucking the hairs off of my foot. (Yes, don't get grossed out, everyone has them--- of course mine are really fine blond so i never even really noticed.) apparently this system takes them out to the root (a bit like waxing). It hurt like hell though so i think the string and I are over for good.

CYCLO DRIVERS/MOTOBIKE DRIVERS - are, quite simply, the worst part of vietnam. They make me angry on a daily basis. They seem not to have learned that harrasing people does not make them want your service (this applies to restaurants, shops and hotels as well) I think it all comes down to tourism in vietnam having developed really quickly and the wrong way. But for example: today I wanted to take a nice peacefull walk around Hue. One hour laterI never want to come back to hue again and have taken refuge in this internet cafe from the hoardes of motorbike/cyclo drivers who have stopped me every 5 feet asking if i want a tour around the city.