Hanoi

We flew up to Hanoi on Friday evening for some cooler temperatures and a change of pace. Hanoi is exceedingly charming and more peaceful than Saigon and it's refreshing to be in a more quiet city with greyer skies.

My immediate impression of Hanoi was that it was far less overwhelming than Saigon is. Our ride to the airport in Saigon was crazy and hair raising with 8 or more near accidents and a driver who cracked his knuckles at every traffic light. Our ride back, however, was slow and tranquil with a driver who stared off in the distance as though meditating on his life. It was midnight and, while the streets of HCMC were still throbbing with life and adventure, Hanoi's narrow lanes were quiet and dark. Yesterday we took a stroll along Hoang Kiem lake, a grey mass of water that would calm the most anxious explorer.

You can feel a different influence on your senses and the air hangs in a less frantic way. I love Saigon and am constantly invigorated by it but it's a welcome change to feel a mist in the air and a feeling of tranquility, although I'm sure I will welcome the return to the heat and the adventure in a week.