LZ - Hanoi

It's all coming back to me now....

Maybe it's the constant horn honking, maybe the lawlessness they exhibit behind the wheel or handlebars of their motorbikes, perhaps it was the feeling of being marked in the crosshairs of street vendors as their next meal ticket that has made me realize where I am today.

Hanoi - April 5th, 2005

Landing in the belly of the red dragon (as I will refer to Hanoi, the capital city of Vietnam) from now on, was as smooth as can be. After a rather comfortable 17 hour flight from LAX to Hong Kong, playing video chess and watching some of the latest movies, I had another 1 hour flight into the dragon's belly before the start to my latest adventure. The taxi ride from the airport was about 40 minutes and took me through a variety of life. From the decrepit wooden shacks to the occasional tasteless skyrise building, this was as diverse a location as I've ever seen. I was looking for remnants of the French architecture left over from their occupation in the early 1940's, but I guess I hadn't hit that part of the city just yet. Yes, Hanoi was once referred to as the Paris of Asia when the French colonialists implied their method of imperialism around the globe. Unfortunately, I had some thoughts while driving through some of the poorer places and had to ask myself why in the world did so many foreigners sacrifice their lives for this place. Maybe it was for the beer or the pho? Anyway, I've yet to venture from the area around my hotel in the Old Quarter, but that will change once I click send and finish the first Vietnamese beer that has touched my lips in over a year. Oh, how we've missed each other...ok, maybe it's just a one sided affair. Unfortunately, finding my love, Bia Saigon, will be close to impossible up in these parts. For the northerners are famous for their draft beer sold out of square looking keg-o-raters in street stalls. It's potency makes up for it's lack of taste and appropriate beer temperature.
Enough about beer...lets talk turkey about my plans here. I know some of you are wondering what I'm doing here as I originally intended on going straight to Thailand to help with the tsunami recovery. However, I had to check out some areas that I missed out on last year and thought, if I'm going to go all the way over here, I might as well. I also wanted to brush up on my Vietnamese. So here I am hoping the weather will clear up, as it is currently cloudy and drizzling. My first rainy day experience in Vietnam, and probably not my last, as it is, afterall, April. I know I left San Diego just as it was getting back to it's normal beautiful and sunny state, but I'm sure once I get to Thailand, this rain issue will no longer exist. That brings me back to my plans...from here I will travel to a place called Halong Bay and then take a train to central Vietnam, a place I visited last year. After spending some time in Hue, Danang and Hoi An, I will fly to Saigon, find my lost love (Bia Saigon) and compare the pho bo to that of Hanoi's pho bo. From there it's on to Cambodia "about 75 clicks up the Mekong River...that's Cambodia Captain" where I will hunt down Col. Kurtz and then visit Angkor Wat. Then, after a few temultuous bus rides, I'll be on Khao San road in the heart of Bangkok. It will be from here that I will begin my search and rescue mission to the island of Phi Phi. Upon arrival, I will take up work with the volunteer organizations there and begin the rebuilding of this small island community. I will also deliver the generous donation that was given to me to a family or the appropriate organization there. Following this, my plan will be to return to Bangkok to seek out my cousin and upgrade his exporting business to include contraband. It's just more lucrative.

So, I've finished my beer and need to see the rest of this city. Xin chao!

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