Almost done in Vietnam.

Well I've seen most main attractions in Vietnam and will head to Laos (22 hours by bus) from Ha Noi next week after a 2 day hike through Sapa.

If you're desperate, you can have a look at Evan's pictures from the trip. They aren't up to my usual high standard... and there are some redundant and embarrassing ones. You've been warned. Click here.

Vietnam is quite interesting. At first I was a little underwhelmed but I have to say that it's a pretty cool place. Every city here has a different flavor. Well, the small fraction of the cities I've seen are different. Aside from tours I rarely venture outside the backpacker friendly places. There's a lot of influence from the French colonial days here.

Vietnam is famous for its traffic. There must be more scooters per capita here than any other place on earth. There's also a strange rhythm to driving. It's not all that different from Seoul but it is different due to the different number of scooters. One tour guide said there are 34 scooter related deaths a day in all of Vietnam: a statistic that is very believable when you watch the way people drive and when you consider the fact that no one wears helmets. It seems like there are only a few rules: honk constantly and be ready for anything. Obstructing another's path here is common and accepted.

Sidewalks are mostly used for scooter parking so you have to walk on the edge of the street with scooters whizzing by so closely that you feel their exhaust blow on you as they pass. Walking through intersections, or just crossing the street seems pretty intimidating at first, but before long it becomes comfortable. There are few breaks in the traffic so you can't really wait for a safe time to cross. Much like the scooter traffic you just go, people will drive around you.