During my final week in Vietnam I raced up the coast to Hanoi, spending a rainy afternoon in the antique walled city of Hue (where a friendly rikshaw driver escorted me to his favorite vegetarian restaurant) and enduring another 14-hour bus ride. Hanoi is a much more friendly city than its southern sister. With numerous gardens, charming French quarters with quietly buzzing cafes, and tree-lined avenues, Hanoi was quick to befriend me.
Unfortunately, while Hanoi was deserving of a thorough exploration on foot, I was running on steam and eager to be State-side. Traveling solo, while very much rewarding in its own ways (and I recommend it), is exhausting. I was hot. I was lonely. I was over the initial charm of Vietnamese slow drip coffee with sweetened condensed milk and wanted, almost more than the comforts of home, a grande coffee served to me in a paper to-go cup.
A three-day, two-night boat cruise around Ha Long Bay refreshed my spirits, though. The thousands of stone islands that are scattered around this World Heritage Site are an impressive site and deserve at least two full days to enjoy (not the half-day jaunt that many of its visitors give).I met an American couple at the Hanoi airport. I struck up a conversation with them as we checked our bags. The Seattle-ites (?) had enjoyed a three-week tour of Vietnam and we
learned we had the same flight schedule. Seeing what only could've looked like a scrawny (I lost about eight pounds in the previous month) and exhausted boy, they offered to let me be their guest at the Incheon and Tokyo VIP Clubs. So, in South Korea I enjoyed the very plush Asiana Airlines lounge complete with free meals, hot showers, massage chairs, and western media, and in Tokyo I munched on free sushi at the Northwest Club. Unfortunately, we were split into separate lines at the Seattle customs and I lost track of them on the other side..jpg)
Great trip. Exhausting and challenging but, alongside the rigor, memorable and fascinating.
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