The Rain!

Hello everyone! Will and I made it to Hanoi on our sleeping bus. What a wonderful invention! I had a bed near the bathroom. Thankfully I had a hanky to cover my face whenever someone opened the door. They provide you with a pillow and a quilt. Will said his quilt smelled like breast milk but he used it anyway. Now that is some serious oldfactory memory he has as far as I am concerned! We found a place right near St. Joseph's Cathedral....I am really enjoying the solitude of the Catholic Church in Vietnam. I went and sat in the cathedral last night and said some prayers and then a group of women showed up and they started saying/praying the Rosary aloud with a microphone. It was very moving and reminded me of being in my cabin at the monastery in Burma and hearing the nuns and monks chant into the night as I was falling asleep. Very meditative. The Pagoda's are not as nice as in Myanmar or Cambodia. As soon as we dropped off our packs we headed out to see the embalmed body of Ho Chi Min. His mausoleum is amazing. We then went to the Ho Chi Men Museum and then walked all over Hanoi's old town. It is beautiful even in this drizzle and fog. The weather could not be more different than Ho Chi Men City that is for certain. The forecast for the remaining days shows thundershowers and rain and temps of less than 70 degrees. I am looking forward to it. I guess I will surrender the bikini to the bottom of my pack. I think this is about as tan as this white girls body can be anyway.

Will is flying back to Bangkok tomorrow evening and I will be here for the following three days on my own. When I get back to Bangkok we will then have 24 hours to find a huge suitcase to get all that we have purchased back home. Have I mentioned how handsome Willis in his new suit. It is very James Bondish...skinny fit...looks great on him. How many 19 year olds have a custom made three piece suit made out of Kashmere? Well, this one does. When he got to Hoi An a day before me he texted me that "I was going to love Hoi An!" I knew he meant that I would be tortured by low cost tailoring! I had three new skirts made in less than about 15 hours. They are all linen. It was obviously warmer down there because now I am ready to have a wool overcoat made. But I won't.

I think I will spend my last three days on a boat in the Halong Bay amongst the Limestone cliffs and islands. Better run off and check in with a travel agent. Hopefully my passport shows up tomorrow with no problems! Maybe I will stop off at St. Joseph's and light a candle just in case.

Talk to you all later,
willandCODY