Good morning, Vietnam!

Writing from the capitol, Hanoi!
The streets are insane here. More motorbikes than you can imagine, coming straight at each other from every direction (and honking) constantly. The guidebook warns: when you must cross the street, don't run and don't panic. Just go at a slow and steady pace and they will whiz around you... and it's true. It's quite a skill to walk directly into the path of dozens of speeding automobiles and remain calm. I'm pretty good!

Our adventure to Vietnam was quite strenuous. We left the island (Ko Chang) Tuesday morning -- taxi to ferry to 5 hour bus back to Bangkok (which became closer to a 6 hour bus when we needed to pull over to fix the tire). We wandered the streets and walked as close as we could to the airport before hopping in a cab, arrived at the airport sometime around midnight and strolled the insanely swanky halls before going to "sleep" for the night around 3am.

We were a bit nervous about our flight to Hanoi -- we bought a budget airline ticket from Asia Airways, and read some slightly nerve racking reviews. Surprisingly, our 6:50am flight was the most comfortable relaxed transit yet! (And though one review mentioned it was "the worst flight attendant eye candy in Asia", they turned out to be quite the opposite too... with adorable outfits to boot!)

Immediately after landing, we realized: It's freezing here! My 1 long sleeved shirt underneath my t-shirt underneath my all-purpose fleece is not quite doing the trick in the 50 degree weather, especially after flying in from the 40-50 degree warmer climate. (I bet that'll get me in trouble, I know it's much worse back home.. but you're wearing a winter coat and hat! ;)

Vietnam is amazing. We've only been here for 2 days, but already the culture, architecture and vibe of this country has sparked a real excitement in me, the most on the trip so far.
We decided to splurge ($18 a night) on a beautiful old room, complete with bath, tv, fridge and balcony.

Today was eventful:
-We saw Ho Chi Minh! Really. In the flesh. He looks great! (Amazing/intimidating experience)
- We went to the "Hanoi Hilton" where the American prisoners were held.
(Fascinating. Inside the prison the information is almost entirely about the cruelty inflicted on the Vietnamese by the French colonialists who built it... the section on their usage of the prison (containing John McCain's uniform) is small and never mentioned until the very end. It mostly speaks to how hard they worked at making life in prison as enjoyable for the Americans as possible.)


Tomorrow we venture south to Ninh Binh.
This loud insane city has been thrilling, but it's time for some rice paddies!