Arrived in Hanoi a bit nackered from the overnight train at 6:30am and set out on foot to find a hotel. Marjolene and I decided to split a room to cut down on costs ... and what a luxury a $14/night room is in Vietnam. It was the first time in 8 days that I actually trusted the sheets enough to sleep in them (I have been sleeping in my sleeping bag ON TOP of the sheets in the previous hotels). After we settled in I headed out to find some street
noodles (yes - noodles for breakfast) and explore the city. I didn't sleep well the night before, so I didn't have the energy to do much besides wander around the tiny streets, walk around the lake, see Ho Chi Minh's mosoleum (pictured) and do a little window shopping. I found this amazing piece of art in a gallery and inquired about the price of a print (actually price was over $400 - not bad 
for art, but bad for my travel budget). Get this - the owner said that he doesn't have a print, but knows a guy who could paint a copy for $150 and that it would be ready in 10 days. What a steal! If only I could stay in Hanoi for 9 more days! (I took a picture ... not really sure why, but it seemed important at the time). The 
next day we headed to Halong Bay, which is a group of hundreds of limestone islands just off the coast. It takes about an hour by boat to get to the beginning of the cluster of islands. Most of them are uninhabitable (very steep or very small), but there are a few floating villages interspersed throughout the bay. We set sail on a Junk boat and headed to some famous cave that was so overly touristy that it looked like the entrance to the Matterhorn ride at Disneyland (or a disco). It was atrocious that they destroyed a beautiful natural phenomenon with tacky colored lights and cement pathways. Most of the tourists decided to head back to the boats so the second cave was pretty empty and spectacularly un-Disney-ified. (I included a picure of both caves). Then we 
sailed on further into the bay. At first, I didn't think the islands were much to write home about, but the further we went into the bay the more I realized how expansive the bay was and how easily it would be to get lost in the bay. There are heaps of nooks and crannies and islands as far as the eye can see in every direction and it was simply stunning in its grandeur and peacefullness. We settled into a bay for dinner (new favorite thing - boiled peanuts!) and a relaxing evening. Oddly enough, when I try to talk politics/economics/something serious with most 
tourists they try and switch the subject or become physically uncomfortable. The Vietnamese, however, keep asking me "Obama or Clinton?" Everyone here is tuned into American politics. Our tour leader (a young Vietnamese man) was excited about practicing his English with me and we discussed politics in both our countries and I asked him all sorts of questions I've been wondering about for the past week (What's the deal with badmitton here? How is it living in a socialist country? 
Do they pay for medical care? - The anwser to that one is No, believe it or not). We talked for close to 3 hours and I found out so many fascinating things (they keep US dollars and gold at home under their mattresses because they dont trust the banks/government). The next morning we woke up early (5am) and went kayaking around the bay ... a perfect way to start the day. The water was an opaque emerald green and it was a bit misty, which just added to the eerieness of the bay. Marjolene and I paddled out around a 
pinnacle and around a corner and quickly realized that we had no idea how to get back to the boat. Luckily another kayaker came our way and showed us the way back. After the kayak trip we headed back to the mainland and back to Hanoi. On the way back we passed by a bridge that Eiffel built in the early 1900's. During the 
Vietnam war, the Vietcong put a prison on this bridge to prevent the Americans from bombing it. Pretty brilliant. This was my last night in Vietnam and my last night with Marjolene, Stefan and Glen. 
We headed out for a final meal of Pho and then out on the street for Bia Hoi - which is "fresh beer" and is about $0.30 a glass. Im pretty sure its home brew and it tastes pretty crappy, but you get to drink it on the street in the little plastic chairs (its like a bar, but out on the street with little chairs). A perfect ending to my trip in Vietnam.Final thoughts on Vietnam:
- loved the street food
- the people were fantastically friendly
- there are no McDonalds. The only western implant is KFC (rumor has it bc the Colonel looks like a white version of Ho Chi Minh).
- Definitely take the train.
- I wish I had time to go to Sapa (my major regret) and spend more time in Mekong.
- 10 days is definitely not enough time for one country. I could easily spend a full month in Veitnam.
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