Good Morning Vietnam!

It has been one wild week in Vietnam since I split up with the whole SEAS group. It was a bit rough traveling through Thailand with our group of 30+, and it has been really nice being down to a more manageable 4 people. So far no major setbacks, sicknesses, or injuries, and none to come in the next 3 weeks, inshallah!

Run down on the week:
- We pulled into Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, on the night of the 12th. The 13th was spent wandering around the city on the backs of the motorbike taxis, walking down side streets, checking out the Ho Chi Minh Mauseleum, and Ho Loi Prison (the Hanoi Hilton, where John McCain was during the war). Really cool city, it was a ton of fun just walking around, seeing some side streets, and getting to know people around the hostel.

- Took a trip to Halong Bay through the hostel, it was amazing! I'll get pictures up sometime, but it's basically really cool rocks coming out of the ocean. We boated around, kayaked for a bit, and then spent the night on the boat. I loved the opportunity to meet some other travlers and swap stories and advice. It was great running into a ton of the people from the cruise in the rest of our travels: hung out with the London crew in Hoi An and then with Victoria in Saigon.

- Then down to Hoi An (half way down on the coast) by way of night bus. A bit of a crazy ride, but after a dramamine cocktail I was right out. Beautiful beach! Spent a whole day out in the sun, added a shade of pink to my back. I loved how all the Vietnamese locals swarmed to the beach as soon as it got cool around 5. Spent the night out with Dom, Tom, Jim, and Conrad from the cruise. Shouldn't have stayed out dancing until 3am when we had a 7am ride to the airport, but when Sweet Home Alabama comes on you just have to run back in and dance with the Vietnamese motor-taxi drivers.

- Flew down to Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) on Friday, saved us a 20 hour bus ride. We went to the War Museum, quite a sobering experience seeing memories from the American War (or Vietnam War) from the other side. We really did a lot of crazy things over here, and you can still see the effects of it. Beggers affected by agent orange walk the streets of Saigon, deformed since birth. Every student in the US should learn about this, but instead we decide to stop history at WWII, when we won.

- Today, we took a tour to the Mekong Delta. Most tourist activity of our trip, but good fun. I figure that any trip I come back from with good pictures is well worth it.

- Tomorrow, we take a bus to Phnom Penh, Cambodia. A couple stops to look forward to there, mostly the killing fields, and then on to Angkor Wat and then to Thailand again!

So that's the short version, tons more to tell, and I can't wait to talk to everyone else about their wild summer adventures! I'm sorry I can't get a ton of internet access here, we're moving a lot, but I will try to reply to everyone as I can. Vietnam was a blast, you should all come sometime! Good night Vietnam!