Well, I must say that I had one of the coolest birthdays ever!

Pam, Urs, Adrian and I arrived back into Hanoi around 4:00 PM from our Ha Long Bay trip. We settled back into our hotel, took a brief nap, and then headed out to dinner for the evening. The streets were still bustling, with motorbikes and taxis and bicycles and hoards of pedistrians milling about excitedly.
We ate at an Italian restaurant and I had the special birthday privilege of splurging on a bottle of Cabernet Savignon. Extra yummy.

After dinner, we made our way to the small lake in the center of town. I swear, all of Hanoi must have been there. There were multiple stages set up around the lake with martial arts, music, and dance performances. Little booths with big, statuesque blinking roosters (symbolizing the Year of the Rooster) were also set up around the lake.... and proud parents were posing their not so amused children in front of the rooster for a holiday picture... It was a lot like getting your picture taken with Santa Clause.... only not like that at all.
A few locals were handing out red envelopes with money and we were extremely pleased that they were eager to include us into the tradition. It wasn't much money, but it was extremely heartwarming to be part of the celebration.
There were vendors on the streets selling blinking neclaces and mylar balloons filled with helium. What was really funny is that some of the balloons said "Happy Birthday", some said "Get Well Soon", and even "Happy Easter". Not one balloon said "Happy New Year", but apparently no one cared.
Everywhere you looked, older kids were playing with sparklers and lady fingers. It was almost unsafe.... actually, it WAS unsafe. I watched from a distance as one kid threw a sparkler into a bunch of helium balloons. My heart stopped as I pictured another Hindinburg incident.... but luckily the balloons incinerated slowly up into the air and no one was injured.
At midnight, the big fireworks display began.
The fireworks were amazing and the show went on seemingly forever. There were so many fireworks that after a while, they became obscured by all the smoke and you couldn't actually see them. It was still amazing and I still feel extremely privileged to have been able to be there.
Chuc Mung Nam Moi. Happy New Year. For the second time this year.
And geez. Now I'm 31.