The Travel Stage--Wuhan to Hanoi

20 hour train ride--Wuhan to Nanning

2 night stay in Nanning (Jenn got her passport--One day spent in nearby Yangmei, a traditional 17th century village)

3.5 hr train ride to Pingxiang (Chinese border town)

30 min bumby and cold ride on a modern day rickshaw (a motorcycle fitted with a "covered wagon" type cart)

600 meter walk to Friendship Pass--the border crossing and passport check

20 min taxi ride to Lang Son--Vietnamese border town

5 hour bus to Hanoi

1 hour search for suitable hostel (US$3/night!!)

We arrived in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, last night around 7 pm. Hanoi is incredible and intimidating--much more "developing" than anything in China. Here the bustle feels more chaotic and the drivers use their horns much more often than China (something we didn't think was possible). On the way into Hanoi, our bus was stopped first by Vietnames officers searching the van (they actually took several parcels and kept them--we're not sure what was happening) and by a bus wreck on the winding hill roads.

We're staying in the Old City of Hanoi--a web of streets that is mildly labyrithian. The weather is cool today--but much better than the bitter cold that followed us all the way to southern China. The town is really gorgeous--but I think you have to slow waaayyyy down to see the beauty in it all--otherwise is just seems like a mass of slumish buildings crammed together. But when you look closer you find that each building is a fading pastel/bright color and trimmed with accents that remind you of French or Meditteranean influences...or maybe Spanish? I haven't seen enough to decide yet (I know, I know--the OBVIOUS answer is French--but that's besides the point).

I am sitting in an Internet cafe surrounded by young boys playing some multi-player online video game. Across the alleyway, a family is chopping up a whole pig into its various meat parts--the meat is layed out on a low wooden table near the street and they are squatting on the curb doing their job. The pigs feet are being cleaned off right now. About every five minutes, other foreigners walk by--all belonging to one of two groups: youngish backpacking types or older European retirees 'on tour'. I can smell meat cooking and lots of incredible spices mixed with a greasy odor. Pop music is playing loudly from the balcony above me. Down on the block, they are chopping cabbages and touts are sitting bored outside of their hostels, waiting for lost-looking foreigners.

We haven't explored much yet--are going to today--planning to go to the Prison Museum (which shows an American War (what the Vietnam War is called here) era POW camp and other things, then go to the Temple of Literature (a confucian studying place), and maybe check out the nearby St Joseph's Cathedral in time for Mass (we're not in China anymore, folks!). In between all, we're going to be eating LOTS of Vietnamese food, and a little of French food too while we're in the city (it's supposed to be the best here).

Tomorrow evening (we think) we're getting on the Open Bus--a US$22 bus that goes from Hanoi to Ho Chih Men City (HCMC--also was Saigon) and lets you stop for as many days as you want in bus stops along the way and then get back on the route when you feel like it. We think we'll hit Hoi An (near the old DMZ), Nha Trang (BEACHES), and maybe one more before landing in HCMC.

So far, we've all had a marvelous time, despite the rigors of travel. We've taken to quoting Forrest Gump quite a bit (Viet-Effing-Nam!) and any other random movie quote we can think of involving Vietnam (please....leave suggestions! So far we've got 'I love the smell of Napalm in the morning,' 'good morning, Vietnam!' and all the Forest Gump ones).

Mostly, we spend alot of time in wonder that we're able to do this--thanking Father for the charmed lives that we lead. I remember sitting in an assisted living facility in my hometown and listening to an older man talk about how he used to spend weekends in Cuba when he was in college. "Really?!?" I'd say with awed eyes, "what was it like!?" I couldn't imagine living in a world where that type of travel was possible...

I think about that now--as we live in our time of peace (on this side of the world, at least). I'm visiting a place that my parents' generation never thought would be open for this type of tourism--I'm hanging out in an area that the world watched for years on the news...and I wonder sometimes if my kids won't ask end up asking ME "what was it like!?!" We can't be flippant about this--it is a blessing that we're able to see what we are seeing today. It is a blessing that I live in a world where a random girl from Kingsport Tennessee can up and say "I think I'll head to Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and maybe Laos for a few weeks" with the same tone as "I think I'll eat a muffin for breakfast today." It is a blessing that we can afford all this just with our savings from our Chinese salaries (the same salary that would maybe last about 3 days in the US). It is a blessing to have three friends with whom travel is a joy and not a drama.

Anyway, I love you all and will try to update with photos when I can! Love to you all!

And remember--if you have any great pop culture tag lines for Vietnam--send em my way!