Making it on my own!

I am managing very well on my own, thank you to all those who have asked!
We spent another day in Sapa, which was extremely foggy and, a shock to the system, cold. This did mean I could indulge in a hot bath, I haven't even had a hot shower since Bangkok, so this was very much enjoyed. We couldn't see very far at all and it made us very gratfeul it had been so much clearer the day before. This meant we ended up taking advantage of the markets, shops and cafes. A bit incongruous to have hot chocolates and cake in Vietnam but that's what Sapa is like! We also wandered around the museum. Quite interesting to learn how Sapa had become a tourist retreat for the French in early 1900s, obviously had a break from the thirties to the nineties, and now is very touristy again. Also learnt a lot more about the different ethnicities in and around Sapa and their customs. Quite fun to look at all their different clothes they make and patterns of monkey's tails and cat's feet.

After another overnight train (arrived at 4am - not ideal), waiting outside a hostel for an hour or so and then a little nap, we managed to explore a bit more of Hanoi. The traffic bothered us less this time, and we walked all around the Old Quarter, looking at the lake, temples, a very European medieval Cathedral and, like good New Hall historians, the Women's Museum. There was quite a lot of overlap with the Sapa Museum in terms of tribal culture. Was quite interesting to learn about some matrilineal societies within Vietnam and then a lot on women historically being involved in war and then being very much involved in wars against the French and American. Also a very moving exhibition of paintings of the 'mothers', women who get support from the state as their husbands and/or all their children 'sacrificed their lives' (rather than killed) in the 50s, 60s or 70s. It was noticeable looking at temples that there is a lot more Chinese influence in Vietnam, or at least the North. Even though many Vietnamese would claim to be Buddhist, many follow a faith mixed with other things, like Confucianism and other Chinese influences. I definitely haven't seen any orange clothed monks; they're everywhere in Thailand and Cambodia!

After this, Cat and I decided to indulge in some Western culture and went to the cinema to see 'The Watch'. Reasonably entertaining, but not something I would watch in the UK and definitely put us off Western culture again!

Cat then left to go to Nepal very early on Friday morning, and I spent another day in Hanoi. I didn't make it to Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum as his body is currently being re-waxed (?) in Russia, but I looked all around the Temple of Literature and saw some more of Hanoi outside the Old Quarter.

I have now made it to Hue on an overnight bus. On this long journey I thought maybe now I'd have some time to think about what I'll do when I get back, and then thought NO! Too stressful! and went back to squashing bus bugs and thinking about how my old English teacher told us it was good to be idle. Am obviously not yet bored of being on holiday and not thinking about the real world.

Hue is the old capital and, due to the tropical storm currently over Vietnam, extremely wet! It has a very beautiful citadel, a striking pagoda and a number of tombs of old emperors, all of which I have now looked around. It was quite interesting to see the French influence creeping in by twentieth century, and they are very good at peaceful and beautiful architecture. I can bore you all with a lot of photos on my return.

Other than that, I have been talking to a lot of teachers (they're everywhere! I really don't seek them out!) and enjoying all the different local beers at every place I go. Tomorrow I am going on a tour of the de militarized zone, which I'm expecting to be a bit heavy and have heard mixed reviews about, but having read lots of books on Vietnam War (thanks to my kindle), I'm embracing it before heading on to Hoi An on Tuesday.