A Viet Kieu comes home

---

I've discovered that people like me have a name and it's Viet Kieu. Basically it refers to overseas Vietnamese people who left legally (i.e. not on a boat- I'm not a F.O.B no matter what Herman says!). In my case I'm the descendent of. People here are under the assumption that we have a lot of money, and we do in comparasion but then again the Vietnamese also have another term for people like me which literally translate into "Cheap foreigner witha backpack." I can't get any respect here! No, actually the locales treat me quite well here. Although, they have a hard time understanding why I don't speak Vietnamese. It's funny cuz my comprehension skills (if not my speaking skills) are improving vastly and it's fun to listen to people taking about me.

I'm currently travelling with a Dutch guy - Vincent - we met on the bus from Vientiane to Hanoi (a cruel 26 hrs that could easily be cut down by 6 hrs. if the bus time table was planned better because we had to wait 6hrs for the border to open!). Turns out Vincent has been following in my footsteps and we've been in the same cities withen days of each other. We have all the same photos in the same order! So now we've decided to travel through Vietnam together. Of course I'll ditch him if he starts annoying me (just kidding). I'll probably keep him around cuz he can read maps. My job is tackling the language. I'm doing ok. Trying to learn a few new phrases everyday but I keep forgetting the stuff I learned the day before! For a while there we were also hanging out with an absolutely crazy Aussie named Daz. What a character. Reminds me of Boogie Nights (Cudas you know what I mean). He's 38yrs. old and has been travelling for 4 yrs. straight. He winters by working at ski resorts in Colarado and travels the world the rest of the time. Somehow he supports this lifestyle through shady stock investments or something. In fact, he says he has more money in the bank now then when he left Australia 4 years ago! I've go to find out who is broker is. Vincent and I have seperated from Daz for now but will meet up with him in a few weeks in the beach resort town of Nha Trang.

So about Hanoi. It's a wild city. I think the scooter and moto traffic might be worse than Bangkok. I've almost been run over twice - Vincent saved me from certain death both times. The city is crowded, loud and smells strongly of disel, sewage and sea food. Not really my cup of tea. But there are pretty spots around town and I've found some tranquility here and there. The food makes up for everything. I think I was losing weight in Laos with all the treking and the bland food, but I've only been here for a few days and I've probably gained it all back and more! How the hell do these people stay so thin! Vietnamese people are really friendly but persistent. I think Vietnamese Cyclo drivers redefine the term. I've also checked out a few night clubs around town, and boy do the Vietnamese know how to party. I really like how men here are so affectionate with each other. And they actually dance here, more than the women do!

I'm off to Halong Bay for 3 days and 2 nights. Then I'll be heading south to Hue.

---

Photos

view from the top
All dressed up and ready to go

Hanging with my Hanoi Homies
Daz, Moi & Vincent