I made it back to Ha Noi bright and early today, with the train arriving around 4:15. Outside I met up with two girls that I met in Sapa; we had agreed to work together since we didn’t know what the taxi and motorbike situation would be like that early. I had confidence in the market economy. My confidence was well placed. There was more supply than demand. We procured a cab and headed off to my hostel. One of the girls said she couldn’t get in hers yet and the other only had the name of the hotel - The Little Hanoi Hotel (she lost the address). There are probably about 50 Little Hanoi Hotels so that was no help. They both ended up coming back to my hostel where the one looked up her ... read more

I arrived at the Lo Cai train station, which services Sapa, much earlier than expected; 4:25 to be precise. Given that I thought we were supposed to get in around 6:00, I was not ready to go. Fortunately, last night I practiced my usual habit of keeping everything together. So all I had to do was quickly throw on my shirt, grab my sheets and bags, put on my sandals and go. I was off the train within a minute and managed not to forget anything. The only thing wrong with me was my shirt was on backwards. I discovered this after I met up with a few people I recognized from my group outside the station. We found our guide and, after about 20 minutes of waiting, we went out to our shuttle bus. There ... read more

I made it through the night last night without the resonance of rats scurrying about under the beds nor waking with a bite. Even so, I slept on the top bunk; I wasn’t taking chances. I left Ha Noi today to head out to Ha Long Bay on an overnight trip. The ride out was in a minibus, where I was joined by a few Canadians, a guy from Japan, a few Aussies and some others from who knows where. The Aussies, who would only be on the bus ride with me, and I got along splendidly as we shared a similar dry sense of humor. The temperature remained a bit cool and the skies overcast with a touch of fog along the water. Our guide told us he thought it would clear though I think ... read more

They don't eat, don't sleep They don't feed, they don't seethe Bare their gums when they moan and squeak Lick the dirt off a larger one's feet - Pearl Jam, “Rats” When you travel long enough, you eventually run into problems. It’s inevitable. Bad things happen. But usually one at a time. I checked off three in one day. I arrived in Ha Noi this morning precisely on time, even with the bus breakdown last night. Despite the facts that Ha Noi is slightly north of the 21st northern parallel - placing it latitudinally in line with places like Cuba, Cancun, Mexico and Qatar; and well south of all of the United States and Europe - and that it is in the tropics, it is a bit chilly here. It’s not due to altitude; Ha ... read more

For no good reason, I suffered a terrible night’s sleep and, as has been customary for weeks, I woke up around 5:15. I would have to get up at 5:40 to make it downstairs in time for my tour so getting back to sleep proved worthless. I got ready and Barbara and I made our way downstairs to meet our guide. Before embarking on the actual tour, we received a complimentary breakfast at the tour agency’s restaurant. After more than an hour’s drive, we reached our first stopping point - Lu Cau Post. Overlooking the surrounding hills, we learned that this are was a US Marine stronghold used for observation and the distribution of supplies. Today it’s merely a very pleasant mountain scene. Our next stop was at an “Ethnic Minority Village”. It was meant to ... read more