People often say that when you go away- you find your soul. Similarly, one goes to India to gain enlightenment and others travel to see more of the world and come back recharged and rejuvinated. I don’t know how to best describe the travels in Hanoi, except to say that there was a sense of nameless relief from the singaporetouchdown. Coming from the fact that she was supposed to be a place for rest and a site of refuge, it blew my mind when i discovered the nonstop movement and crazy traffic. (even more intense than msia, bkk, shanghai.)   

Hanoi old quaters: She seems to be the one demanding most from our relationship. Everyone says she is charming and quaint, painting pretty pictures in my head before I realise that she (simply) takes and takes until I am drained and left with nothing. I still feel whoozy and lightheaded and I return home feeling completely spent. It’s one of those where you go, boy, i need a holiday from my holiday. Or you feel threehundredandone times more tired and worn out than when you first started on your trip. 

Then again, like I say, Hanoi is a bizarre place. She seems to have been birthed from a whirlwind. I remind myself to look for the roses along the street, talk to backpackers along the way (amazingstories, stirring more wanderlust), get out of the city to jump into the sea and then get stuck in a field of mud only then having to climb the entire mountains barefoot because i would have slipped if i didn’t remove my wet slippers (mystupidtevadrippinginmud). 

More later, I promise. Till then, I have to recover from feeling old from backpacking (all of my twentyfive years screaming out at me), and walk around with sore bones, a dizzy head and the feeling as if I’m somewhat still at sea.

So, many have asked me howwasthetrip only to leave me struggling a little to get the legobricks in my head in order. No, I have no exciting adventures of eating snake tonic or exotic tales about the East. I cannot tell you about intense poverty on the mountains because they had tribegirls using mobile phones. I cannot say that I wanted to weep with intense sadness at the plight of the people because it was difficult to get my mind around the commercialised tone in the air. I can only say that I have never felt this human.

I might, if you ask, only be able to tell you that – I have simply lived a little more.

back from finding legs in the sea, swimming in the ocean, sleeping under the clouds (no stars, sadly, but clouds galore!!). we’re in the juncture now of waiting till the overnight train from hanoi to get up to the mountains slash villages.  

i find i have freelance stuff to settle and work online and in my gmail. ooh.