Later, on my last night, we hung out with a friend of Ben's and went out for Lau, hot-pot, this one served with seafood. As a food it's good, but not my favorite. It is, however, the social part of it that is it's main appeal; a bunch of people sitting around a giant pot filled with broth on a portable gas stove, with uncooked sea food and vegetables served on plates. You put whatever you want to eat in the broth, cook it, then eat. After a while, the broth becomes the best part of the meal, tasting like a flavor-rich Miso soup. Ben's friend was an old hippy, I forgot her name already, but she was really fun and I had a great time talking and downing Bia Ha Noi's the better of the two local beers. As is usual in Vietnam, the place tried ripping us off by adding stuff to the bill we didn't order. Luckily, Huyen was able to figure it out, and we got the bill down to 400,00 Dong, down from 500,000, which still seemed too steep. Seriously, any tourist can save a fortune in Vietnam if they are able to have a local go with them to any store or restaurant, especially if that person is Huyen, who is just oh-so-willing call out anybody's bullshit, and seemed to lay down the law if anyone tried anything. (Hope you know what you're getting yourself into there, Ben) We drove Ben's friend back to her hotel, and then we ended up going to a bar called Dragonfly with the Polish roommates. It was a pretty cool place, catering to tourists and expats, but also had a bunch of Vietnamese there too. It had this Middle Eastern theme, with hookah pipes and a no-shoe policy.
Next morning, I got up, and took a taxi to the bus station, to catch a bus to the airport. Traffic was ridiculous, with the one-mile cab ride taking nearly 45 minutes, a half hour of which spent on a road of no more than 300 yards. I at one point contemplated walking there after sitting in stopped traffic for twenty minutes, but realized that every walkable inch of sidewalk was covered with motorbike traffic, and since I had luggage, there would be no way to even get through on foot. It was a good thing too, because I thought I knew the way, but when we finally were able to get out of that street, I realized I would have been horribly lost if I had chose to hoof it on my own. The bus to the airport, and the flight home were both good, no problems.
So yeah, it's done now. It feels really strange being back, more so than usual when I come back from a trip. I really, REALLY liked Vietnam, and saw why it's such an appealing place to live for so many ex-pats. The grass of course is always greener, and there are things there that can drive you crazy. The traffic is not only fierce, but just plain deadly, with every Vietnamese I talked to telling me that they were in at least one major accident in their life. Phi said that she used to play basketball in high school until she broke her leg in a scooter accident; Hien told me she was laid-out unconscious on the highway for five minutes after running into a cow; she was alone, and avoided what should have been certain death-by-speeding-honking-mack-truck by some downright miracle. The air quality in Hanoi is by far the dirtiest I've ever been in, and I live in LA. Every breath you take when you are on the street is literally like taking a drag of a cigarette, without the fun. And let's not forget the endless stream of annoying peddling by motorbike taxis, shops, food stands, etc., not to mention all the times such places will try to cheat if you decide to give them your business.
No place is paradise, and I'm sure if I decided to live there, a whole slew of things would come up that would just drive me nuts. But the fact is, what I saw there was style of living that on the whole seemed to relaxed and appealing. People there are extraordinarily generous and kind-hearted. (I've heard stories of Westerners taking advantage of Vietnamese hospitality and mooching off of random people for months) Communities there are strong, and haven't been ravaged yet by consumerism and the inevitable narcissism and alienation that seems inflict people wherever Capitalism goes. Stark competitiveness doesn't strain every relation ship, and the stress and pressure found in the American workplace doesn't grind people down day after day. Of course, I was only there for two weeks; what I saw there first hand was limited; much of what I have come to know about Vietnam has been from expats. But it still has opened my eyes to other ways of life that might not be so bad. I really think one thing that I came away with from the whole experience is what I now consider to be viable options in my life. Moving to another city in America seems to be pointless for me, and I never really considered life in another country, or one where English isn't the main language at least. I don't really have that anymore. The language barrier in Vietnam is huge, but that doesn't stop so many people form moving there. I'm not willing to write-off LA and leave just yet, but if the work situation continues to be what it is, and nothing here continues to keep me here, I do think I will be seriously considering a major move. A thought for now, but I went to Vietnam on very short notice, with half the trip being completely on my own. It seems fortune favors the brave, and while I don't consider what I did to be all that daring (my little two weeks were put to downright shame by the Austrian guy I met doing a ten month trip around the world by himself) I found that opportunities can arise when you put yourself out there. If anything, I really am looking to travel again, this time looking at visiting a friend in Korea, (watch out Marley) looking to do more than just two weeks away. This is how I feel now, so I'll see how I will act on it, but I do think I'd be extremely disappointed if I don't setup another overseas travel blog, very soon.
