the wee hours in Hanoi

So Andrew and I took the night train from Sapa back into Hanoi. The night train is an ok experience. Sleeping in a small room with two bunks and constant stopping throughout the night is not the best way to catch up on your beauty rest, but it is a good way to travel a long distance without letting extreme boredom set in.
As we took the night train back into Hanoi, the only thing we were unaware of is the fact that the train arrives at 4am and we were unable to check into our hotel until 12pm. So, needless to say, we had some time to kill and no where to go. We arrived at our hotel and dropped off our luggage at 4:30am and then hit the quiet streets to see what we could do at such odd hours.
We walked the quiet and lonely streets of the old quarter, until we came upon a street vendor selling pho bo (beef noodle soup) and pho ga (chicken noodle soup). We decided that a 4:30am soup sitting would be in our best interests and it was. Pho bo and pho ga is pretty much the national dish of Vietnam. It consists of rice noodles in a clear beef or chicken broth that is flavored with a lot of fresh herbs like chives, parlsey, cilantro, mint and lime. You can also add chili sauce and some sort of pickled liquid to it as well.
At about 5:45am, we hit the streets again looking for a cup of coffee. Surprisingly, there is little to nothing open at this time as shops are just beginning to pull up their metal gates and prepare for the day. We did see somethings that surprised us though. On a bad note, we saw a pile of slaughtered dogs being cleaned on the sidewalks for eating. On a good note, we saw some great Tai Chi being practiced by older women near the lake and a variety of weird and wacky Vietnamese fitness regiments being executed. One man continued to whip his head wildly in clockwise and counterclockwise motions for five minutes, while another sat upside down on a park bench and swung his legs wildly above him. The viewing of these fun morning exercises was definitely the highlight of our morning.
It is now noon and the city is back to its normal chaotic hum, a very different rhythm than the wee hours of Hanoi.