Against All odds... She made it to Hanoi

What feels like about two minutes after closing my eyes my alarm is yelling at me and it's time to head to the airport. As I reach the check in desk I am told my bag is 4kg overweight. I do what any experienced traveller would do and I start packing on my clothes. 4 T-shirts, two pairs of shorts and a dress later and I'm still 2kgs over. In 36° weather you dont even want to be wearing one layer, let alone 4. Seeing the pain in my eyes and the sweat on my brow the lady let's me check in. Waddling through security I head straight to the bathroom to strip!

Arriving in Hanoi the first thing I notice is how different the climate is. Its cooler, but still damn hot! I'm still feeling sick as a dog, my head is a mess and I cant laugh without coughing up a lung. I just want to sleep but my friend from the course is having a tough time so I immediately go to her.

The first night we stumble blindly around a rough part of Hanoi getting leered at by ever single bystander, throw in the dogs jawbone in the middle of the footpath and it's fair to say Hanoi is not the place for me.

Hanoi is so different to any other place in Vietnam I have been. It was done, but I am well and truly happy with my choice to make Saigon my home!

After spending one night in a backpackers I decide to splash out and get me a hotel room, but $30 for three nights isn't a bad deal (;

The next few nights are a blur (mainly due to the fact that the cough medicine that I have been drinking through a straw). I manage to see many of my friends from the TESOL course that have moved up here and we make some amazing memories. The streets of Hanoi are so very different. One minute you are having a nice cold beer, next minute, just like Cinderella the clock strikes 12 and she is done like a dogs dinner.

I have experienced many lock ins in my life but none like the ones in Hanoi. In Hanoi bars must close at 12, it's a law, but like many laws in Vietnam, a little bribe goes a long way. One minute drinks are flowing, the music is pumping and the lights are low! 12 comes around and the music is off, the roller doors are down and the lights are on. Just like little rock at 3am, it's not a pretty sight! The owner stands outside, waiting for the police drive by, money is exchanged and its business as usual.

On my last night in Hanoi I am reunited with the absolute loves of my life and we do Hanoi right! Yet I must say 4 grown adults in a double bed is not comfy!

My flight back to HCMC leaves at 3pm which leaves me just enough time to head to Train street to cross yet another thing off my Vietnamese bucket list! Train street is beautiful and confusing all at the same time. It's a tiny little street made up of commercial and residential buildings that has a big ol train bleer through at least 5 times a day!

After a quick stroll down the tracks and yet another hard goodbye it's time to get a bike to the airport!

Touching back down in Saigon I take one deep inhale of humid polluted air and it's safe to say, I'm home.