Laos, Vietnam, and Southern Thailand Pt. 2/3

Goodbye beautiful Laos, hello Vietnam. We arrived by plane and then caught a bus into the capital of Hanoi. At night the city looks great. Bright lights everywhere and people meeting by the lake that is the center of the Old Quarter. We thought, "Wow, Vietnam is gonna be pretty cool!" We found our hostel and met up with Becca and called it a night, eager to get an early start the next day.

There is a lot tell about our travels through Vietnam, so to save time and not bore you with mindless drivel I will sum it up in with a few bullet points.

• Hanoi has an energy to it. You can feel it in the streets and in the peoples faces. Another fellow traveler said it best when she said "the city has a dark dome of gloom on it." We couldn't agree more. I don't know if was the weather or what, but no one had a smile on their face. It made me depressed. But, there was some good news. Vietnamese cuisine is incredible. I had never been so excited to eat. Noodles and spring rolls were everywhere, and we ate them every chance we got. I probably gained five lbs. Oh, and traffic in Vietnam is absolutely lawless. Dozens of motorbikes, cars, and bicycles meeting at an intersection that has a traffic light, but seems to go unnoticed. It was exciting to watch.
  
  

• Riding the trains down the coastline of Vietnam was really cool and I wasn't heartbroken when we boarded the train in Hanoi and headed south to DaNang and Hoi An. This was our first sleeper train ride, and we were all pretty anxious to see what it was like and also excited to see who our two bunk mates were going to be. Luckily, we were greeted by an older German couple at the entrance to our sleeper, so we felt pretty comfortable about the situation. Being the gentleman that we are, Connor and I gave the girls the middle bunks and we took the top bunks. There was one foot of space between the tip of my nose and the top of the ceiling. It was a little uncomfortable at first, but after a while I felt right at home. I looked down and Steph was asleep within the first twenty minutes, so I knew she was content with the sleeping arrangements.
  
  

• Hoi An completely washed away all the depression and darkness that Hanoi had planted in our minds. We checked in our hostel and bought a case of Biere Larue for 210,000 dong and sat by the pool and played some cards. Day 2 was spent biking through the quaint bustling market. Postcards and tanks were purchased.
  
  

• Another train ride, this time it's 17 hours, and it's headed for Saigon. We were all pretty excited about this. Two of our friends, Katie and Chelsea, were already there so we were anxious to see them. We got some dinner with them and had a few drinks then called it a night and went back to watch Jurassic Park. It was great.

• The next day we booked a tour to the Mekong Delta. I have always wanted to see the mighty Mekong River, so I was pretty pumped about it. The day was filled with boat rides through floating markets and authentic Vietnamese dining. Seeing how the river provides in so many different ways for the villagers was pretty cool.
  
  

Goodbye Vietnam. You left me with mixed feelings. On one hand your grimacing faces made me feel unwanted and insecure, but on the other hand you dazzled us with delicious food and breathtaking scenery. It's a toss-up.