Hanoi, Tam Coc and Halong Bay

Ok..... so Hanoi, Vietnam has been a strange city for me so far. Don't know exactly how i feel about it just yet... or perhaps I have not prepared myself enough for the constant hussle and bussle of motobikes riding and parking everywhere and anywhere. Or the norm of pushing and shoving of anyone that comes your way, or knowingly being scammed everytime you take interest in buying something whether it be food, a bracelet, fruit, postcard or a plain simple doughnut that should cost you 1000 Dong instead as a tourist you would pay
10 000Dong.... All i have to say and learn to do is "Let it go Uriah, just let it go!

All this mixed emotion of how i feel about the city however, diminished after we visited Tam Coc (a few hours south of Hanoi). It was our first time to be amazed by Vietnam's natural beauty. Riding in a sampan on a stormy day through the Ngo Dong River and just soking in the beauty of the lush rice fields (not sure if they were rice fields but really pretty nonetheless and that is all that matters), local women herding cows, watching and greeting other sampans and other people floating along the river. It's even more amazing when the person that is paddling the sampan you see looks like a Vietnamese version of innocent Santa Claus. Love this shot!

The next day, i was put at ease even more about how i was feeling when i was charmed by one of Vietnam's world heritage sites- Halong Bay. The junk we where in was comfortable and Kenny our tour guide made me appreciate the genuine kindness of Vietnamese people. Kenny is a short, super skinny guy, weighing in at 40kg, with a squeaking voice, and is a 24 year old economics graduate who just wants to improve his english. To me he was my little ferret tour guide. Very hyper!

So, thanks to Kenny my views on Vietnamese people is that they are ambitious and are just trying really hard to make a living, so that even if i get ripped off by quadruple amounts everytime, they mean well (sort of). "Whatever makes me feel at ease"

Tonight, we train it down to Danang.

See you then,
Uriah