Hanoi

Well, hello again! Xin chao! We are writing from a lovely little cafe (Joma Cafe--it came recommended from some new traveler friends, and we would recommend it, too) in the heart of the Old Quarter, Hanoi- capital of Vietnam. We took an overnight train from Hue last week and can definitely feel the difference between the north and south of Vietnam, besides the temperature difference (its actually a bit chilly!) We were really sad to leave Hoi An, which was probably my favorite place so far on this trip. We were planning to stay 2 days and ended up staying 8! If you go, make sure to visit the beach, which nobody seems to know about because it is a 5km bike ride from the center of town, but it is gorgeous with lots of palms and a nice surf. (But we would recommend skipping Hue. The Citadel is pretty cool to visit, but most of it was destroyed in the war anyway, and the city itself just isn't that interesting.) Anyway, we are a long way from the lovely, beachy coast now, and are taking a night train up to the mountain town of Sapa tomorrow. We are excited to get out of this hectic city! We like all of the little shops and historic feel of the Old Quarter, but it is difficult to walk around because the sidewalks are littered with motorbikes and the streets are complete chaos! We thought Saigon was madness, but realize now that it was actually more organized than this free-for-all. Also, we experienced a little bit of "revisionist history" Communist style at the infamous "Hanoi Hilton," where American POWs, including John McCain, were imprisoned during the Vietnam War. It was actually pretty upsetting because their propagandist account was a series of photographs describing what a "pleasant" time the American prisoners had there---playing volleyball, decorating a Christmas tree, learning local crafts, and eventually siding with their captors!! Outrageous! And so different from the stories we've known! Now, I know that this certainly isn't the place for me to expound on the atrocities of war, or my opinion of it, but I am a strong believer in honoring those who have served our country abroad, regardless of how ridiculous the war. But I suppose we couldn't have expected much else. The ironic thing was that we were walking through the exhibit with a group of American military- the first Americans we've encountered in Vietnam. They didn't stay long!

We spent the weekend on a little cruise of Halong Bay which was gorgeous! Similar to Milford Sound in NZ, but the karst formations are a bit smaller and jutting up all over the place. We were really fortunate to have a clear day as it had been raining for weeks. We really enjoyed meeting the other travelers on the boat with us and had a great time chatting about our different countries (a Finish couple, an Indian/Malaysian couple, some Austrians, and a French Canadian couple. A few of them were living in Singapore and we learned a lot and loved hearing about the intricacies of the national psyche...so different from anywhere else we've ever known!) Our tour guide was trying desperately to get us to sing karaoke with him, but really he just wanted to perform and ended up singing 5 songs himself, including Lionel Richie- hilarious!!! That's all for now, and it looks like we might be skipping Cairo in May. Libya is pretty close.... We had thought of going over to Japan to volunteer, but that doesn't seem like the best idea right now, so we might just head over to Europe a bit early or go diving in Malaysia. Let us know what you think, and we'll keep you posted!

Photos: Halong Bay. The perspective here is amazing because all you can see are piles and piles of these rock formations stretching off into infinity, getting lighter and lighter as they recede. It's like being in a traditional ink painting, minus the tour boats and woman selling pringles and oreos from paddle boats! They find you anywhere!