Good Morning Vietnam!

This is just a quick update, but I wanted to let you all know that I've been in Vietnam since August 4th, and I'm absolutly loving it! Hanoi is a crazy city - always buzzing with people, traffic, and horns! It's crazy, but there are really no traffic rules: red lights and dividing lines mean nothing. The only thing that people obey is the horn! But the people are super friendly, the food is exceptionally good, and the city in general just has so much to offer in terms of character and things to see. I'm usually not a big fan of cities, but I think Hanoi may be my one exception.

After a couple of days in Hanoi I did a trip out to Halong bay, which was about a 3 hour drive outside of Hanoi. While the scenery was beautiful, I was a little disappointed at how touristy the whole thing was. I was on a boat with about 14 other people, and we went out onto the way and did some kayaking and caving. I met some great people though, and I also became friends with my guide, Ha, who is 21 also. A couple of days ago we met up and she took me to an orphanage I'd asked her about, and we also went out for lunch and she took me to the silk-making area of Hanoi. Her friend, Hai, came along too, and we all had a really teriffic time. It was my first time riding on the back of a motorbike, and that was an experience all in itself!

After my trip to Halong Bay, I took a trip up to the northern part of Vietnam. To get there, I took an overnight train from Hanoi, which left around 10pm and arrived in a town called Lao Cai aroud 6am. From there it was an hour bus ride to another town called Sapa. Sapa and the surrounding area had breathtaking scenery, and it was uphill the whole way there so it was pleasantly cooler than the heat and humidity in Hanoi. Surrounding Sapa are rice fields and different villages of people. I did a half day trek to one village, and then the next day I did a full day trek to another village, where I stayed overnight. It was a wonderful experience, and I got to learn more about the lives of the village people, and I got to taste a traditional meal. It felt like I was experiencing the real Vietnam!

I leave Hanoi this evening on an overnight bus that heads south to a city called Hue. I plan to stay there only one night, and then continue to make my way down the coast to Saigon.

And just for general interest, I'm paying about $3 a night for a single fan room in a nice, clean guesthouse. I found a cafe about 500 m from my guesthouse which serves heaven in a bowl: a mixture of beef cooked with sprouts, on top of noodles and mint with fishsauce, topped with pickled cabbage and peanuts. It sounds like an odd combination, but it's honestly to die for! I've been eating there 2-3 times a day, and for a bowl that I can harldy finish it costs me $1.12. If I stick to a bowl of rice noodle soup with beef, chicken, or pork (which is called "pho" and is also incredibly tasty) it's about 62 cents. So needless to say, living is incredibly cheap and it's making up for all the money I spent in New Zealand!