A end to the radio silence

Its been really difficult to post over the last few weeks. Wifi has been spotty and I haven't had any real access to a computer to sit down and write. Here is a short summary of what I've been up to:

I finally made it to Hanoi at about 1:30am. The hostel didn't have anyone there to get me and pretty much everything was closed. I found a nice man from a hotel chain I recognized and he gave me some info about the taxis so I wouldn't get ripped off. When I got to the hostel, I only had US dollars (that's what they use in Cambodia), so though it only cost about $17USD, I paid him $20 just to get rid of the currency and compensate for not paying him in Vietnamese dong.

We hung out and explored Hanoi on the first day and then went and did an overnight Halong Bay cruise. It was really organized and the food was great. Totally worth the money and not too much random down-time.

We went to Hoi An next. It was a really charming little port city. There was a lot of history in the area, and we rented bikes to explore the city. We both got a few things made at a local tailor and I'm really happy with how they came out.

We did one day in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Went to the War Remnants Museum (also called The Museum of American War Atrocities). It was a very sobering experience. It was largely pictures, and for a museum with such a loaded name, I would have expected more narratives and statistics about the war itself. It did, however, give me the curiosity to research the war (didn't really learn about it in school).

We did one night in Bangkok (insert obvious joke here) at an airport hotel... which was absolutely luxurious. The beds were amazing ans they had a fitness room!

Flew to Krabi and took a boat to Koh Phi Phi. It was really touristy, but there was a lot to do. We did a morning snorkeling tour which was really nice. The boat broke down, but that didn't really have any affect on the quality of the day.

Now were on Koh Lanta. Not so much going on here, but the hotel is nice and its really relaxing. We rented scooters to take around the island, which is a pretty big victory for me because I was pretty scared of riding one! I've spent the past few days being weirdly sick, but I think I'm getting over it. Total shame since I had planned to eat my weight in Thai food.

Tomorrow is our last day here and I'll probably just hang out. The next day is a big travel day. Starting with a 7:30am departure from the hotel, we have a 7pm-ish flight from Bangkok to Seoul.