Different Strokes

The difference between the slow life of Laos and the chaos of Hanoi is astounding. We arrived last night after a 1 hour flight from Vientienne, where we spent our final 3 days in Laos. The flight was bumpy but worth it - it takes over 24 hours to go by bus, an is well known to be the worst ride in S.E. Asia. The horror stories abound. Hanoi is fast-paced, more motorbikes and crazy vehicles than I've seen before, and full of beggars and salesmen as usual. We've spent our time in the old quarter around a beautiful lake decorated with lights, stages, and surrounding markets for the festival.
The final night in Vientienne was spent in good form. Before dinner I went shot for shot (6) with Nane drinking Johnny Walker Black Label, a 35 year old Laotian kickboxer from Paxai - she was a very cool girl who I thought worked at the guesthouse (because she delivered me my laundry!) but it turns out she was just a traveller as well. I tried to show her some Tai Kwon Do moves but I was no match for her skills. She's fought in many countries in Asia, like Myanmar and Cambodia, and has even gone as far as Baghdad to fight. After a funny dinner by the river with the boys where we watched a band play until closing and even jumped in on a few songs to play along, I went with Tom and Micke to WINd WEST, a night club near our guest house. The club actually had the same band as the restaurant!, playing everything from John Denver and Laotian cheesy rock songs to Nirvana. They were quite good. The confusing part about our night, which ended at 5am at a bowling alley after too many BeerLaos, Micke's purchase of his rented shoes, and nearly 500,000 kip spent, were the "ladies of the night" that always found their way over to us. Let's just say it's a classy city that easily transforms as darkness falls, but in a more subtle way than, say, Bangkok. The girls in Vientienne are slick and opportunistic, while in Bangkok it is more blatant.
Leaving Micke the Swede in the capital was sad; it's been great travelling with the group we met in Chiang Mai. Tonight we leave for Hoi An halfway down the coast, which means we skip Halong Bay and the cooler temperatures of the north, and also split off from our English buddies. Just our luck, we arrived in Hanoi on the 30th anniversary of the reunification of the country (of course) so the city is flooded with people and the entire country has booked side trips to Halong Bay. Maybe next time.
Vietnam so far is deceivingly expensive. We'll pick up custom-made suits in Hoi An and chill out on the beach in Nha Trang before heading down to Ho Chi Minh City. But I really can't wait to get out of here for some reason and cut through Cambodia back to BKK.
In the words of my English mates, I'm off to hunt for some fit birds.