Good Morning Viet Nam!

Well, Ha Noi. What a town. Population approximately 4 million, compared to the entirety of Laos which is 5 million. Luang Prabang, my last stop, was only 30,000. The culture shock of being somewhere so different, so noisy, so exhilarating and exhausting, has been amazing and huge. This place is quite unimaginable unless you've been here: rabbit warrens of streets chock-a-block full of silk, red lanterns, food stuffs, beads, images of Ho Chi Minh, the Vietnamese flag, bootleg CDs and DVDs, conical hats (I had thought they were a thing of myth, but no). Interminable traffic which makes it nigh on impossible to cross the road. Communist propaganda spewing forth from loudspeakers on the road every morning. Constant horns honking and people calling out: Motorbike madam? People following you, hassling you, touching you. Pagodas everywhere. Buildings that are narrow and long and brightly coloured. Men in berets and leather coats. Pho (noodle soup) and baguettes everywhere. A cacophony of noise, colour, people, smells, things everywhere.

Getting here was interesting too - I'm counting my lucky stars in fact, as I'm fairly sure we had a malfunctioning engine on Vietnam Airways flight VN864 or whatever it was - I had been planning to fly from Ha Noi to Hue, but I think it will be the long bus ride for me! It's never comforting to feel "this isn't right" for a whole flight, and then see ground crew run to meet the plane and immediately dismember the engine and look concerned. At least I got here in one piece!

I'm staying in a fantastic backpackers in the old quarter, run by Aussies and providing free internet, tea and breakfast as well as cheap beer and aussie bbqs! The food in Ha Noi is great and I've dined at a couple of places that train disadvantaged youth in hospitality roles - notably KOTO which is run by a Vietnamese Aussie and has interested me since seeing a documentary on it a couple of years ago. Great food, cheap, funky, and friendly staff.

This morning I went to visit "Uncle" Ho Chi Minh, who is embalmed and resting in his mausoleum despite dying in 1969. He is still idolised here. There are reminders of the war everywhere; and you realise that every single person here has been directly or indirectly affected by that conflict. It makes one incredibly grateful that we have never experienced war on Australian shores, and makes one question the legacy that the Iraq war will leave on that country.

An incredible country. Far more hard work than Laos, but fascinating and enjoyable nonetheless. I think a day or two respite in Ha Long Bay will be required - probably starting the 27th. In the meantime, love you and miss you - Sophie.