Vietnam

Well,I just arrived to Ha Noi.(Regrettably by plane) Still bit under cultural shock as i never been to Vietnam before,this country is unique in its own way. Incredible how every Asian country ,standing next to each other is so different from one another,unlike in Europe. Yesterday I had to take a mini van from airport to Hoan Kiem lake for 40000 dongs. The driver was rude,he went to great extent to fill the van with people with disregard for their comfort.He also filled the van with various goods and packages,one guy sitting there had to keep his legs up in order to sit ,crazy : The driver was hesitant to give full change,i gave him 50000 dong to pay the40000 Dong fare,he only returned 8000,i had to fight for remaining two:) Airport was also bad experience.As i was sitting in longe ,bunch of taxi drivers sitting next to me lighten up their ciggaretes,disregarding the clear sign engraved on a wall that reads:" NO SMOKING' When I pointed to the sign,they were just laughing about it.When will the selfish smokers realize that other people dont need to inhale their freaking poison?Perhaps after gettng clubbed or receiving upper cut punch? Vietnamese in the North act rough,no delicasy,lack of manners,even when well intentioned.They talk loud,quick,constantly interupting,getting physicaly close to the person they are talking to This is legacy of communist rule. The good thing is that hitchhiking in Vietnam appears to be easy and the wording to explain it is so similar to Chinese language!Therefore ,no language barrier as the case was in Thailand. The french,mediteranian original architecture in Old quarter of Hanoi is absolutely admirable. Walking streets of Hanoi it feels I am somewhere in Cote d Azur ,except that I am in the heart of South East Asia.The tall french buildings still stand strong and attractive if not beautiful though, swamped with roots ,dirt and dust ,as Vietnamese failed to properly maintained them since French left half of century ago.Venetian blinds made of wood smiling from top floors though there is no one to open window shade. The legacy of colonial era has definitely its positive elements too.