Onward to Luang Prabang

Hard to believe I'm getting ready not only to leave Hanoi, but also to leave the country entirely to visit yet a third, Laos. Yesterday was a long day. But I didn't need my 18+ hour CI battery going dead as I walked back to the hotel from dinner to tell me that. And it was HOT!

When I got into my hotel after wandering around like a bag lady for several hours, I was warmly greeted like a returning family member and asked how I liked Sapa. The restroom off the lobby has the standard sink/toilet/shower arrangement (standard for here, way not standard for the US). Basically, you just shower standing next to the sink and toilet, no curtain. Water goes everywhere, but there's a little cover for the toilet paper roll. Tired? Sit on the toilet! (Great for leg-shaving). Naturally, as soon as I was refreshed with a shower, clothing change, and copious amounts of coffee, my room was ready. ;-/ Too bad I couldn't sleep.

Yesterday was my day to get cash, see CraftLink, a NFP gift shop where the Clintons famously shopped, and visit the Temple of Literature, across the street. (Have I mentioned that it's HOT?) Being Vietnam, nothing is as I was told, either in directions or at the HSBC bank I'd sought out. Guess what? It's not my "local" bank after all. I'd walked out of the way (have I mentioned that it's HOT?) to get some good ol' greenbacks. The teller told me I could. Then that I couldn't. Then that I could withdraw Vietnamese and exchange it at the window. As the machine spit out a million Vietnamese dong, a manager approached me to say that the teller had misspoken. Great. Now I have all this Vietnamese money and no dollars. Grrrrr..... Well, it really was not so bad. I was able to drop a cool mil at CraftLink after visiting the temple.

I've only just gotten used to Hanoi and now it's time to go. I am no longer afraid to step off the cub into oncoming traffic without looking. Standard rules of the road, one-way streets, staying on your own side of a two-way street, and stoplights are mere "suggestions". Also, assuming you are foolish enough to trust the stoplights, the "walk" signal gives no warning. It goes from green to red just as the drivers' light goes from red to green! But once you've mastered the game, it almost doesn't matter. The key, it seems, is to stare straight ahead, try to be aware only through your peripheral vision of oncoming traffic (motorcycles, almost exclusively), which will approach from all directions, not just the ones you might rationally conclude. If you make eye contact, you're dead. It's a game of chicken and a competition over who has a greater degree of plausible deniability. If you make eye contact, a driver knows you've seen him or her and you then have responsibility for avoiding the driver. If you just look straight ahead and walk, they'll get around you. Somehow, here in Hanoi, at least, it works. Accidents in Saigon seemed fairly routine. Here, I haven't yet seen one, though have feared I'd be the object of a few. Actually, the greater danger is tripping over a parked motorcycle, which seems to be what the sidewalks are for.

I like Hanoi, and I like Vietnam, so I'm sorry to be leaving. But I'm also looking forward to seeing Luang Prabang, the entirety of which is a protected UNESCO World Heritage Site. Once there, I hope I will, as very tentatively planned, hook up with a Brit/Italian couple from our Halong Bay cruise/sea-kayak trip that's traveling around the world on a six-month air ticket--something I'd love to do. For now, time to get packed and checked out before spending a few remaining hours wandering the Old Quarter and getting a taxi to the airport. I arrive in Luang Prabang around 7:30, where someone from my hotel, the Apsara, will meet me. I hope.