Vietnam

Vietnam, what a beautiful country. Even after 2 weeks of constant dong jokes (the Vietnamese currency that is...) I love it.

Our first stop was down south in Ho Chi Minh. To say it is a busy city with beehive traffic is an understatement. It wasn't easy being such an obvious tourist/bate at the famous Ben Thrang Market. I sweated a lot that day. Slightly because 10 sales people were yelling at me to buy their stuff at the same time, and slightly because it was 40 degrees celcius.  I, however, had a great time as I got to spend some quality time with my girl Courtney and my Japanese babes before we all traveled separate ways.

With a few new adventurers joining our crew, we jumped on sleeper trains and traveled from city to city up the coast. From Ho Chi Minh - Nha Trang - Hoi An - Halong Bay to Hanoi. Despite some of my friends' gross encounters with bed bugs on the trains I must say I have loved this form of transportation. Bed and beer while getting from A to B. Recipe for success! We even had a big B-day celebration one night, which adds cake and balloons to that list.

My favorite coastal city was without a doubt Hoi An. What a beauty! We rented bicycles a cycled around the city for hours. The country side around the city is untouched and beautiful. Farmers manually watering their crops and buffaloes working in the rice fields. And the city itself is tiny and colorful, and you get the most amazing adrenaline rush and feeling of freedom from cycling alongside the lovely locals in the Vietnamese traffic. There were a lot of tailors around, and I decided to design my own dress at YALY. It turned out beautifully - a peachy red chiffon dress with full length and open back. Now I just need to be invited to a gala!

We finished off our Vietnam trip with three days in the capital, Hanoi. Seven million people and five million motorbikes. However, I found it a lot more relaxing than Ho Chi Minh. We went to our final war museum, Hanoi Hilton (where Americans were imprisoned), and of course a temple or two before walking around the city, enjoying people watching and looking at all the beautiful sights that surrounded us. Pruny old faces, artists, people carrying so much on their bike you can't actually see the bike etc... And if you go to Hanoi, make sure you eat at Quan An Ngon - AMAZING food! After a few fun nights in the big city, I once again had to separate with some of my new friends, my Chicago girls, Diane and Kris. Now I'm in gorgeous Laos, where I'll roam around for another week, so there are more grand adventures to come.

Hope life is good wherever you are!

Lots of love,
Sweaty Hippie

//Merete