Ralf gets a haircut

There are some "crafts"villages near Hanoi. I tried to decide whether to go to the "snake" or the "silk" village.The specialty of the "snake" village is to raise snakes for the specialty restaurants in the area. The description of a typical meal in Le Mat goes like this, I quote one of the guidebooks.
"  Usually the cook presents the live cobra at the table either tied to a stick, or held by a helper. First he cuts the snake's neck, allowing the warm blood to gush out and fill a glass. Then he slices its stomach and removes a small green balloon-like venom sac, pouring it into another glass. The heart is next; the cook makes an incision a little higher, carefully cutting out the snake's still beating heart, and presents the tiny organ on a plate or in a glass of rice whiskey. The snakes venom is blended with its urine and some more rice whiskey.The brave can down the glass and its living contents. Quite the cocktail, eh.
The rest of the snake is then cooked and presented to the table."
I decided to go to the silk village, Van Phu. I took local buses, and that is quite a challenge when you can't read the signs, and nobody speaks English. But I did persevere, and I did reach it. It was not what I expected. This village is well known for the handmade silk, and the silk sold at the boutique shops in Hanoi almost all come from there. So I thought it would be touristy, sort of like St. Jacobs, a little out in the country. Not in Vietnam. Even though it's listed as 7 km from Hanoi, it is simply a small part of the urban sprawl, actually "urban slum" would be a better description. I never saw another tourist, on the way there, while I was there, and the way back. There were some nice silk pieces, very reasonable, and I actually did some shopping.

The other interesting adventure was that I passed a barber who had set up shop on the sidewalk. I needed a haircut, so I sat down and got a haircut. The good news is that it was only a buck fifty, the better news is that I won't need a haircut for six months. The only bad news is that I might have a problem getting through passport control; they might not recognize the photo as being me.
I did another brave thing today. I took a "xe om", which is a motorcycle taxi, and interprets as "I want to die young, riding a motorcycle, hopefully with a scared shitless Westerner on the back". I think the guy thought I was gay, I was holding on so tightly. Beats any rollercoaster ride I have been on, and is cheaper, even if you include the cleaning bill for the pants.
This is my last night in Hanoi for a few days. I am off to the "Wild North". I am hoping for electricity, but I doubt I will see a lot of internet, so if you don't hear from me in a while that is the reason.
I was thinking today, as I wandered like a lost cloud, thank goodness I am doing this while I am still yound. I don't think I'll be doing this in twenty yeras.
Have fun
Ralf