How to quit your job and travel around the world

Mom left this morning and the day is sort of like a summer day in New York: hot and steamy and it feels really quiet in the city except for tourists like me. Broke down and bought two more pairs of shoes after sending hiking boots back with mom (too hot for India), so I got some nice flips and knock off Converse (HelloKitty brand!). It's kind of like shopping at Payless here: everything is under $10 and made in China. The quality is marginally better though. Closer to the source?

I lolled around in bed today watching "Asia's premier English channel" aka AXN and they had a marathon of "World's Worst Disasters 2". So of course I was glued to the television for a couple of air-conditioned hours. Why do we like to watch train wrecks?

So last night the guy at hotel excitedly announced that Bill Gates was arriving in Hanoi and staying at the Hilton. He might as well said Jesus appeared given the solemnity of the announcement. Sure enough I cruised over to the Hilton today and there was a long line of Vietnamese eggheads gripping tightly their tickets to hear him speak. There was a fever in the line - each guy nurturing the dream that he could be the Asian Bill Gates. And one of them probably is going to be. I half-heartedly tried to go in, but no luck. A swarm of ineffectual and mean-looking police were milling around so I didn't really push too hard. The police are dastardly here and I can't tell if they all have pink eye or drinking problems. Both I think.

Something strange happened on the way to Halong Bay - I must have gotten a virus as my glands swelled up and I had to sleep for the next 36 hours straight. I saw bits and pieces of the trip, but unfortunately I was asleep most of the time as the scenery was spectacular. Here are a few shots from a cave I managed to see and the view from the entrance. It was the first time I've been sick on my trip and mom insisted I go to the doctor (Dengue Fever? Malaria!?) and he gave me a clean bill of health. Maybe a blessing in disguise since its forced me to stop my bad "social smoking" habit that I re-aquired here in Asia.

Temps in Hanoi rising daily and there's the "labor day" holiday coming up on May 1. The travel agent was using scare tactics on me to tell me everything everywhere would be booked in Hue (my next stop in Vietnam) - except for his hotel of course, which has a special room and price for me. Seriously, everyone is trying to sell you a package tour here - our adorable waitress last night wanted to talk to us about Sapa and a tour ... and then the room attendant at the hotel this morning wanted to tell us about the great tours we could sign up for around Hanoi. We declined both.

After securing my ticket to Hong Kong (next destination before India) I stopped in a vintage poster store with anti-American propaganda posters. Did you know that in Vietnamese Nixon is spelled Nich Xon? Neither did I. The propaganda is intense and compelling. I didn't buy any anti-American ones (something seemed a little creepy to me about buying posters that said 'Kill Americans now and you win!'), but I did get an "end war now" poster and another cool train poster rallying the Reunification Express from Hanoi to Saigon. The original prints go for between $180 and $500 and were extremely nice - but the reprints (which I bought) are $10.

I can't actually look at my blog, but I can post so here are a random assortment of shots from Hanoi. I didn't make it to see "Uncle Ho" today but mom assured me it was creepy. I ran around instead arranging a visa for India (which involved a strange and formal interview at the embassy whereupon he wanted to know all about the free newspaper business, so I think he was really just personally interested). After getting all the paperwork (more photos, more photocopies) I got it squared away. After lunch we went to the very nicely organized Ethnology museum, suffered through some rush hour traffic (scooter driving is a high art form here) and then down for rest before dinner. It started to rain tonight, giving the city kind of gothic feeling - old people in the conical hats squatting in alley ways with small fires; young guys idling on motorbikes and the Internet cafe is packed with teens doing instant messaging. We are leaving early tomorrow for a three day tour to Halong Bay - it's true that you have to (are encouraged strongly) take a tour to most places. It's slightly annoying but IMHO I guess I would rather go with the flow at the good price than continue to get really frustrated about trying to do everything on our own.

Ok, I have to admit that my expectations for Hanoi weren't so high. I had heard some stories from other travelers about how the city wasn't so friendly or about the running scams. But I have to say that Hanoi is one of my favorite places I've been so far (at least as far as cities.) There's this sweet combination of old crumbly French architecture and tree-lined boulevards with all the idiosyncracies of Asian culture filling in the gaps. Winding alley ways shoot off between buildings, balconies drip with plants, store-fronts display adorable clothes ... (if only I could fit into them. I started yesterday determined to buy some new things only to be totally cowed into consumer submission by twig-shaped sales girls who kept bringing out the XXL sizes. Let's face it. Western girls have tits and asses and there's no way we're fitting into clothes cut for Vietnamese ladies. Ever. It's humilating. So I bought shoes instead.)

Mostly we've just done a lot of walking around the Old Quarter so far, though tomorrow we'll venture to "Uncle Ho's" body, which apparently just arrived back from Russia for his annual "maintenance." I'll let you know.

There is some kind of firewall preventing me from looking at my own blog, though I can apparently make posts. Strange...

So my mom asked me yesterday if I ever got lonely traveling alone. It's a good question and one that probably scares a lot of people from actually taking the plunge. It's hard to coordinate your life, time and money so that all three add up and you have a willing travel companion. There are loads of couples traveling together - but I can say that I don't envy them too much. Sure, it's nice to always have someone to watch out for you and eat with (and all the rest). But I have also noticed that people traveling together also see a lot less in some ways. They are focused on each other (or one is focused on the other) and not on the world around them as much. For that very reason, traveling alone brings so many more opportunities to your door. Also, it's been very easy to meet people, especially the more off the track you get. (Like, you just naturally start speaking to the only other western person on the bus.) But all that said, I haven't felt lonely so much as sometimes you can get bored of yourself. I guess if you're prone to lonliness it could be overwhelming, but it's not something that bothers me too much, so it's been quite ok. Of course, in the last few weeks I have been with people pretty constantly so even when you're alone, you're not really ever alone. And as for ease of travel as a single woman, it's really straight forward in SE Asia. I am sure India is very different, and I am glad we will be two there. I've heard Saigon is a bit dodgy, so I am feeling leary of heading there, but maybe by then I'll meet up with some other travelers.