back in Ha Noi

I've returned to Ha Noi from Halong/Cat Ba Island and am leaving for the airport back to the 35-degree weather and yummy food in Bangkok. yay! I've been looking at the weather forecasts on BBC world, and right now Thailand/Singapore/Malaysia are the hottest places that were listed (but, I guess it's winter in Africa right now, but still...). I will have to bust out my winter coat on my return to SF, which, sadly, is in a couple of days.

I met some nice people on my trip. I went out with a few people who were staying at my hotel. We got some drinks then went to a discotheque where they played some rather terrible techno/trance, but the Japanese girls, the English guy, and I went and joined the young Vietnamese boys on the dance floor anyway. Everything there closes at 11:30, so it wasn't too crazy of a night or anything.

I sat next to a Quebecois couple on the van ride back to Ha Noi who took this year off from their studies to travel (they've been traveling for about 9 months so far, and, yes, Mom, I got to practice some French, though they have weird accents up there in Canada). They were ready to get out of Southeast Asia, as it seems to be the Vietnamese way to try and rip off tourists, which they were really mad about. I guess that's to be expected and I certainly won't miss the constant car/motorbike horn honking here (it's their way of saying "I'm here" when driving), but I haven't gotten used to it, so it still stresses me out. But, right now, I need to find a place to stay in Bangkok for tonight. later.