When I first arrived in Hanoi, I decided that it was the first non-western place I had ever been where I really thought I could live. It has a great energy and currently the climate is reminiscent of San Francisco. The cool air is a nice respite from the heat which I will be returning to in the south.

After being here for 2 days, I realized that I could not live here simply because the horn honking is driving me bonkers. I will continue to come back and forth to Hanoi as I visit the surrounding areas and I have vowed that I will never be on the street during rush hour.

Even so, I still really like it here. The people are nice and not pushy and the roads are named for what the sell. There is shoe street and tin street, motorbike cover street and herb street, toy street and luggage street. It is pretty cool.

I've been pretty lazy. I determined before I got here and confirmed while here that I find it hard to really relax in the heat without a reclining chair because I'm really not comfortable. Here it is cool and my hostel has a nice common area so I sleep late and sit around a lot. Museums have a lunch break so I generally don't make it in the morning. Strangely, I don't mind sitting around and doing nothing here like I did when I was in Laos.

I'm starting my travels to the surrounding area today so I will be getting a bit more active.