Leaving Hanoi
Sarah says:
sometimes i have to take a deep breath in hanoi to keep from going insane.
it’s just that sometimes the incessant assault of 2 million honking scooters,
or that one street corner that i pass everyday where motorcyle repair shares the same slab of cement with the chopping of raw chicken
or constantly being chased up the street with, “you buy something from me? madame, hey, madame, banana? pineapple?”
i can feel a sensory breakdown coming on. but, for some reason, and I honestly can’t quite figure out why, i kind of love this crazy city. there’s this fantastic feeling of accomplishment from getting used to a city like this-when you learn how to cross the street, when the noise doesn’t sound so noisy anymore, when you start to sit at “side-walk cafes (the loosest translation I’ve heard yet) with locals. we have definitely decided that there’s no way on earth we could live here but we’re very glad to have been here, to have gotten used to it, and to head on out on the 11pm train tonight.More…
January 24th, 2007 at 3:24 am
I’ve been to lots of places in South East Asia over the years and your comment above sums up the vast majority of them; amazing places, glad to have been there, but also glad not to live there. However, the whole region gets under your skin (not in a hostel, bugs off a dirty sheet kind of way) and you’ll always have a subtle urge to return. Asia’s a bit like one of its primary exports - it’s addictive. I’m so jealous of you guys right now, and I only left China a couple of months ago!