back to the old quarters

reporting live from hanoi. it has been great. i'm really satisfied as i have immensed myself fully in the vietnamese culture. i can't wait to share this with you guys reading ..

mum sent me off the budget terminal before i truly was alone. but not for long.. i met Tom. he is studying in NYP and he was going back for a wedding. he offered to show me around hanoi as it was a pleasure to him to introduce his country to me. the flight wasnt that boring as i chatted with him through the entire 3 hours.

i was still planning to take a local bus as orginally planned as i wanted to travel as the locals do. but to my surprise, Tom's family gave him a surprise welcome at the airport. there were about 5 members, and it was like a big event for them. they truly treasure quality family time. his family had a big car (very uncommon in vietnam) and he took me all the way into central hanoi. a good 45 mins ride was filled with nostalgia as i have passed this road 2 years ago :)

he then invited me to stay at his place. i was extremely keen to as i wanted to experience true vietnamese culture. and i did! i was offered plenty of tea and was sitting in the living room with the family members. of course i was really on my guard as i had to be really safe then this isn't some scam. of course his genuine and all.. but you never know. anyway, he took me to the best PHO BO (beef noodles) in hanoi. and it was great. he then took me around hanoi on his motorbike to introduce the sites to me.

just in a short span of time, i managed to see most of hanoi's attractions on tom's motorbike. it's true when they said that even though you travel alone, you never truly are ..

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