Tam Biet Hanoi!

Tomorrow I fly from Hanoi to Saigon - I've been here nearly two months now. A place that was pretty new to me has now become familiar, and now it's time to say goodbye.

There are a lot of things I will miss about being here: walking to the market in the morning and buying a variety of fresh tropical fruit; taking a stroll at dusk around peaceful Truch Bach Lake; going to see Vietnamese movies at the Hanoi Cinematheque; exploring the outer fringes of the city on foot or on bicycle and coming across ancient temples with kids playing in the courtyards; eating at my favorite restaurant Quan An Ngon with it's street-stall food in an old French villa; sitting in the musty library at the language center and taking my classes with Teacher Huong; and of course hanging out at An Duong with Jacques and Christine.

There are also some things I won't miss - the incredible heat and humidity, the non-stop motorbikes and honking, the polluted air, the first 8 bars of Phil Collins' "Another Day in Paradise" on constant repeat at the local supermarket. Of course, as I'm headed to Saigon, those things are likely to get more before they get less, except maybe for Phil.

Tam Biet Hanoi. Hen gap lai!