leaving hanoi

just got back from a 2-day trip to Halong Bay. it is sooooo gorgeous. i met a few other travellers on the excursion, so it was nice to have company. Si(mon) from Scotland, Paul from Ireland, Juan and Chris(tian) from Spain, Christian from the UK and Milla from Finland. we all hung out last night and had a great time.

i was lucky to meet Julio on the first afternoon in Hanoi. his travel partner had left the night before, so he was straggling for a couple extra days. we ended up hanging out until the afternoon he left. we got massages (mmmm), saw the water puppet theater, visited Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum and the HCM museum. it was an extraordianarily fascinating museum. i highly recommend it. lots of written propaganda, propaganda art, homages to the former leader. he is greatly loved here for having driven out the french.

i'm about to get on an overnight bus. thirteen hours to Hue (six hour layover) and then another two hours to Hoi An. i'll arrive tomorrow afternoon. i had to skip Hue, but it's all good. i'm going to see if i can squeeze in an extra day in Dalat instead. then off to Mui Ne. if all works out, Sunny and i will meet up there and head into Cambodia. if not, we'll meet up in Saigon.

i'm having a great time. life is gooooooood.