Goodnight, Vietnam
I'm off to Bangkok tomorrow morning via Thai Airways and the Hanoi Airport to catch my flight to Australia later that evening. Things have improved since my last post, for I took off to Ha Long Bay, a UNESCO World Heritage Sight on the South China Sea, for three days the next morning.
The weather was foggy, rainy and cold most of the time, although it got a little warmer on our three hour boat ride back to the bay from Cat Ba Island National Park where we spent our second night. Those of us on the upper deck of our junk got a little too carried away with the warmth, however, and were left with unpleasant sunburns after forgetting that good ol' UV rays still manage to get through overcast cloud to turn the white skin of unsuspecting sun-seekers into an unpleasant pale red.
Many more things to be said about Ha Long, Cat Ba and Vietnamese economic development on the coast, but for now I'll only mention that the highlight of the three day trip was St. Patrick's Day evening when five of us from our tour - two Canadians, an Aussie and two Brits from Leeds and all roughly the same age - drank the night away playing drinking games and consuming a few too many ridiculously cheap Tiger Beers. Great fun had by all, despite the next morning (which actually helps explain why none of us thought of using sun screen for the ride back home...).
Last night and today were spent with my friend from McGill, and let's just say that I'm now well acquainted with the expat bar and restaurant scene in Hanoi. Today we visited the impressive Ethnology Museum, an experience that reminded me more of the UBC Museum of Anthropology than a typical Southeast Asian tourist destination. I believe we'll be paying a visit to the 'New Century Club' tonight, yet another expat favourite, before we bid each other adieu until we meet again sometime in the future, somewhere in the world.
It's still raining and dreary in Hanoi, so I'm looking forward to the dry heat of Australia like never before. It feels a bit strange to be finally leaving Asia after seven and a half months of fascinating, amusing, frustrating and enlightening experiences and challenges, but I know I'm ready to go.
I posted a handful of pictures from Laos, but the rest will have to wait until I get to Australia. Until then, tham biet.
The weather was foggy, rainy and cold most of the time, although it got a little warmer on our three hour boat ride back to the bay from Cat Ba Island National Park where we spent our second night. Those of us on the upper deck of our junk got a little too carried away with the warmth, however, and were left with unpleasant sunburns after forgetting that good ol' UV rays still manage to get through overcast cloud to turn the white skin of unsuspecting sun-seekers into an unpleasant pale red.
Many more things to be said about Ha Long, Cat Ba and Vietnamese economic development on the coast, but for now I'll only mention that the highlight of the three day trip was St. Patrick's Day evening when five of us from our tour - two Canadians, an Aussie and two Brits from Leeds and all roughly the same age - drank the night away playing drinking games and consuming a few too many ridiculously cheap Tiger Beers. Great fun had by all, despite the next morning (which actually helps explain why none of us thought of using sun screen for the ride back home...).
Last night and today were spent with my friend from McGill, and let's just say that I'm now well acquainted with the expat bar and restaurant scene in Hanoi. Today we visited the impressive Ethnology Museum, an experience that reminded me more of the UBC Museum of Anthropology than a typical Southeast Asian tourist destination. I believe we'll be paying a visit to the 'New Century Club' tonight, yet another expat favourite, before we bid each other adieu until we meet again sometime in the future, somewhere in the world.
It's still raining and dreary in Hanoi, so I'm looking forward to the dry heat of Australia like never before. It feels a bit strange to be finally leaving Asia after seven and a half months of fascinating, amusing, frustrating and enlightening experiences and challenges, but I know I'm ready to go.
I posted a handful of pictures from Laos, but the rest will have to wait until I get to Australia. Until then, tham biet.
posted by Per at 6:19 a.m.
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