After being ripped off by our taxi, we walked through the cramped, loud, and foul-smelling streets to finally arrive at our wonderful hostel in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam. Our incredible hostel is probably the best thing about this place, which partly explains why we’ve spent the majority of our time here. Just check out that view from the rooftop bar! They also have free breakfast, FREE BEER, a movie room! But most importantly, they have been extremely accommodating with all of our rescheduling needs. 

  
It is now our third day in Hanoi, although we were originally only supposed to be here for one night before we left for the stunning sights of Halong Bay. Unfortunately, on our first night, my mild fever and annoying headache took a wild downturn that left me clutching the toilet in agony all night long. So, our stunning trip to Halong Bay was replaced by an extremely effective and efficient trip to the local hospital instead. Thank goodness for travel insurance, eh!? They ended up sending me home with a few drugs that the doctor promised would have me feeling better the very next day. In the weak state I was in, I thought she was just saying this to be nice…but nope! They’ve got some miracle drugs over here because I feel amazing!! I went from zero to hero in a mere 24-hour window. But my co-Colorado travelers were the real heroes here because they are the ones who handled rescheduling our trip to Halong Bay, booking us a private room, taking me to the hospital, and gently forcing me to eat and drink and take my meds. I owe them my health and I absolutely could not have done it without them. This is how friendships truly grow and thrive over travel. 

Apart from that, we’ve tried going out and seeing a bit of the city, but end up feeling quite downtrodden and miserable afterwards instead. There appears to be no pattern to the traffic except the thought that if I honk louder and longer than you, then you are more likely to get out of my way. I’m not even sure which direction the traffic goes in. This makes getting anywhere fairly frustrating and slow. In addition, all the sidewalks are packed full of food stalls and motorbikes, so you’re pretty much forced to walk on the street, where all the rest of the city’s motorbikes are honking at you incessantly. Combine these frustrations with the smell of exhaust and raw meat decaying in the baking sun and an uncomfortably high humid heat, and you’re in for a pretty awful experience all around. Needless to say, I’m ready to finally escape this stinky city and head to the much-awaited Halong Bay early tomorrow morning!