Lost in Hanoi and a trip to the Metro

We've spent the last couple of days poking around the city and getting to know Hadley and Hanoi. Yesterday we ate breakfeast around 8am and decided it would be fun to go explore a little. We headed for a market (that consisted of alot of clutter) we had seen a couple days earlier. At breakfeast we ate outside and thought the temperature was pretty comfortable. By the time we got to the market it felt hot and it was probably 10:30 am. After poking around and not finding any souvenirs worth buying we started winding our way back. The streets here head in everywhich way and street names change quickly. We turned here and there and felt like we were heading the right way home. 30 minutes later we came to a major cross street (the only ones on our map) and realized we were about three blocks from where we started and in the complete oppposite direction from where we thought we were heading. We took a break from the heat in a hotel enjoyed a soda, fed Hadley got a sense of where we needed to go and set off for our hotel. All three of us were pretty hot by the time we got to our hotel a little after 1pm. This hasn't been the first time and I'm sure it won't be the last that we have gotten turned around in Hanoi. Luckily the people are really helpfull and taxis/cyclecabs are cheap.

This morning we decided we better leave earlier if we were going to explore with Hadley and not get cooked. We ended up heading to Hoan Keim Lake (a tourist area) for breakfeast overlooking the lake. By the time we got done with breakfeast we were boiling hot and decided for Hadley's sake we better forgo a stroll around the lake and avoid cooking her. On the way back to the hotel a Vietnamese women gave us alot of advise in Vietnamese about Hadley being to hot and needing a stroller as not to be so close to our bodies. We decided this wasn't a bad idea because Hadley is getting heavier and sure gets hot being carried in the sling, front pack or just against our bodies. Tammy asked a Nanny in a neighboring room where one could buy a stroller in Hanoi in which she replied the Metro Market Cash & Carry. We went down stairs and grabbed a cab and set off for "the Metro". We knew the Metro was not close but it ended up being a good 20 minute cab ride away. Our taxi driver asked if we wanted him to wait and considering we were in the middle of no where with no taxis visible we decided this would be a good idea. We said we would be out in 15 minutes, but I think the driver new better.This was a huge box store kind of like a Costco and we stuck out like a sore thumb. When we entered several people were trying to get our attention and we weren't sure why. I checked my backpack and started walking towards the turnstyle in where we were stopped by a lady pointing to a 1 meter tall sign. We quickly figured out no kids were allowed. Hadley and I waited by the entrance while Tammy went to get a stroller. Many Vietnamese women held Hadley while Tammy tried to get a stroller. 30 to 40 minutes later Tammy is at the checkout with a stroller. By this time I'm getting a little nervous wondering if our Taxi meter has been running and wondering if Tammy is going to be able to buy the stroller as all the people coming through the entrance have a Metro Card like a Costco card. Hadley and I moved to the exit side of the store and see Tammy's disappointment when the cashier won't take US dollars. Luckily she was able to grab enough Dong from me and not wait in line again. I'm sure the cashier was impressed an American without a Metro Card and not enough Vietnamese Dong. All and all it worked out, but boy were we sure out of our element at the Metro.