The day started in Ha Long Bay with three Immodium and ended in Hanoi with a vodka, Kahlua and Baileys menthe (Dirty Girl) at our favorite bar, The Dragonfly. I really thought I was done with the stomach issues.
Ha Long Bay was hardly worth it, sorry to say. The bay was surreal, and as we got to sail out on our private junk, it was pretty relaxing. The scenery is incredible; this time of year, fog covers all the islands, making it seem like a mystical journey through a Zelda universe. Other than the actual journeying, though, it was lame. We went to the UNSECO World Heritage site to see the caves, and it was like walking though a Disney ride - colored lights everywhere, kids yelling, loud tourists with flashy cameras. It wasn't what I expected, and it really wasn't my scene. Neither was the beach we went to. That, too, was covered in tourists (though mostly domestic), and serene and moody it was not. I would have preferred another full day in Ha Noi, because this city is awesome, and I don't know when I will be able to make it back here.
Anyway, that's all in the past. I'm going to the fabric market tomorrow to pick up some Vietnamese silk lining for my custom Khmer trousers, and maybe some dope leather shoes as well. After that, it's on to a sleeper train for 36+ hours, 6 people to a cabin, and our final excursion before the ISP begins. So much work to catch up on before then, and so little time. But, like the belly troubles and long days spent traveling, it's all part of the new normal.
Here's to the spring peepers, Cheese-its and NBC comedies that I'm missing. It should be quiet on this end for maybe a week - Nui Chua is unlikely to have Wifi. Enjoy the break! Read some important things instead.
Love you all.
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