The flight was easy and a recognized a friend from Luang Prabang. Everyone is traveling on similar routes in SE Asia so it is very common to see people again. This guy was from Pennsylvania which was a great connecting thread between us.
I first went to the ATM and not having researched the currency very well, took out 200,000 dong. I realized later that it wouldn't get me far. That equaled about $10.
I mistakingly realized too late that similar to Chinese New Year, the Vietnamese shut down for their New Year as well ('Tet'). The usually bustling town was dark and shops were closed up. It was the last official day and I hoped things would improve for the rest of my time. They did not and Tet became an increasing annoyance.
Regardless, that night my friend and I found a street corner and ordered the two pho options. Vietnam street "restaurants" are a funny sight as they use stools and tables typically found in a kindergarden classroom. The soup and noodles were yummy and we walked around the town a bit before returning to the hostel.
That night, the soup revolted, upwards, again and again. I spent about 10 hours alternating the toilet and curled in fetal position on my bed. It was absolutely horrible and by the time morning came around, I was weak and exhausted. My one full day in Hanoi was spent laying in bed after trying to walk the city and being absolutely too weak to continue for long.
The next day however, I planned to go to Halong Bay (Gulf of Tonkin). I had a great time on the boat with a group of Welsh travelers from my hostel. We stopped at a UNESCO cave and also did some kayaking. It was misty and chilly, but that added to the mysterious feeling of history looming over the bay.
Coming back to the hostel, I found that my rented towel had been taken by housekeeping and because of the new year, the hostel had run out and their laundry service was still on holiday.
The next morning I headed back to Shanghai just a little bit stinky, but happy.
No comments:
Post a Comment