Vietnam

When people ask what I did on my vacation in Vietnam, I won't be able to say much. When you think about the history, the places to see, the tourist guides to Vietnam, there is almost nothing that I can say I saw or did. But my time here was amazing, and I have meet people and seen and done things that will stay with me for a very long time.

I flew into Hanoi on December 30th at night (and someone PLEASE remind me that it is always a better idea to land in a new country during the day - this arriving at night business sucks) and meet up with a friend on her way south. We were randomly invited to a birthday party for an ex-pat in Hanoi (this random invitation thing would become a theme - a good one) and sat in a bar and ate cake and caught up, and I got some preperation for what the next week would hold. To be honest, it was cold, grey, and I was beginning to think that this might not have been my smartest idea.

The next day I took three buses and a boat to CatBa Island in HaLong Bay. It was still grey, and I was still thinking that maybe this wasn't the greatest idea. Contingency plans were made, and I wandered around town for the afternoon.

That night, I was invited to a New Year's party at one of the hotels in town with the friends I was meeting here, and had a really lovely time. I felt better about things.

After that, days sort of blend into a routine of climbing, eating, drinking and talking. I meet amazing people, and the contingency plans for escape kept getting pushed back day by day. Climbing on a beach, surrounded by islands and huge towers of rock. Amazing meals at the crag with chickens running around in the background. Baby goats tripping down hills as I struggled my way up rocks. Days that ranged from cold, to perfect climbing weather, to almost too hot to climb well. Seeing how much I have grown in my approach to climbing as well as my skill. Leading routes that scare me. Toproping routes I never thought I could do. Feeling like I have a pool of new friends.

Tomorrow I will finally leave CatBa. I will take a ferry and three buses back to Hanoi, and the next day I'll take two different flights to get to Bali. There I will be meeting up with friends and will have a totally different vacation experience - on of sea and sand and old friends. A chance to cook the cold out before heading back to Korea.

I will have spent almost two and a half weeks in Vietnam. While my collection of bruises and scratches is greatly impressive, I won't be leaving with tangible things, and I am one of the worst tourists ever. But I will remember the family that made us lunch almost daily, the girls who worked in the restaurant we almost lived in, playing frisbee in the middle of the street, dancing and singing with a group of Chinese tourists, and the memories of amazing food and conversation in a million different places. I will also be taking this strange little changeable group of climbers I seemed to have connected with along with me, and feel really lucky to have been able to meet all of these really amazing people.