Hanoi

I have decided to spend my last days in Hanoi. I spontaneously took a van from my homestay in Ninh Binh to Hanoi and checked into an accommodation that, aside from the bed and toilet, unexpectedly had no other seating. The hostel was really not good, but I talked with a few nice people, I met Satya, an Indian woman from Bangalore who is quite successful in CrossFit and runs her own sports park with classes and coaching, I met Dev again and spent some time with him and later with Rob. There was a great vegan buffet for 80k, where I met Violet, a New Yorker who worked on the Harris campaign. She was traveling with Ghassan, a Palestinian who is currently traveling in Vietnam and building a startup that explores solutions to various problems, such as upgrading toxic wastewater, reducing drought, and cutting down biological plastic. The two met in an Israeli-Palestinian project that aims to provide common ground for environmental solutions beyond political issues. They thought it might be interesting for me to participate in something like that, as one can learn a lot. Their conversations, discussions, stories, and simply their character enriched me greatly, and I really hope to see them again! After 2 nights, I went to another hostel and between the two, there were worlds apart! The new hostel was very social and had a breakfast buffet, I arrived and was in a room full of young girls, there was a lot of chatting and clothes being shown off, music playing, and hair being cut; I really enjoyed the atmosphere. In Hanoi itself, one can stroll through the streets, there are many various shops, there are several lakes, I visited Hoa Lu Prison and absorbed some more history.

One evening, I had a long night walk with Ghassan, and we suddenly found ourselves in the middle of a local wholesale market; it was surreal how lively and active everything was at 2 AM, I couldn’t help but smirk or laugh the whole time.

My voting documents arrived in time, and I was able to vote at the German Embassy in Hanoi!

I spent some time with Lisa, an Austrian, and later with Samuel, a German, and we had fascinating conversations, also all the other girls in the dorm were very pleasant company.

Overall, I felt in Hanoi that people were a bit more distant and smiled less, but the city is also huge and you can tell it's somewhat wealthier. I believe there is still a lot more to discover there; I will definitely take another look at the surroundings and the north in the future :)