Hanoi!

Woke up at 4:30 this morning to meet my two friends waiting outside with motorbikes. Although I managed to fit my entire life into 2 backpacks and one very large, rolling suitcase, I was a little apprehensive about packing everything I own on the back of a motorbike. We drove through the streets early this morning which was very relaxing considering it was the first time I had been on the streets of Saigon without traffic. I was on the back of my friends bike with one backpack, and the other bike had my huge suitcase and other bag strapped down. I tried to tell them I would take a cab and could make it all by myself, but then Oanh made the argument that people in the countryside carry 10 bags of rice weighing hundreds of pounds on one motorbike, which was the main convincing argument to load my stuff on her bike. It felt so strange driving down a road with my entire life split between two motorbikes.
The airport was wild, since it is less than a week from the Lunar Year and everyone is traveling home to see their families. I was the only white person in both the airport and the plane. I got pushed around a lot, especially by older women. I had a taxi waiting for me at the Hanoi airport, and the trip into the city was realllllly nice. To get into HCMC from the airport, you drive through the outskirts of the city which is basically run-down businesses and houses. Getting into the city from the Hanoi airport, on the other hand, is a trip through farmland. A lot of people were out tilling the rice paddies with water buffalo or knee-deep in muddy water planting rice stalks. I started to recognize buildings as I got deeper into the city, and I instantly remembered why I loved this city. It is so beautiful, so much greenery, and better yet, people can understand my accent here! Since I learned how to speak Vietnamese in Hanoi, I learned it with a northern dialect, so speaking Hanoian slang in HCMC always got me strange looks.
My guest house is really nice, I am in the only room on the top floor, which is 5 flights up and incredibly hot, but has amazing views. Met up with my friend Thuan (who I haven't seen in two years) for lunch at a place we used to go to together. I was starting to get the feeling that I hadn't even left. The traffic here is actually worse than HCMC, because a lot of people come up north for Tet. I got hit by the handlebars of another motorbike sitting in traffic, I will definitely have a bruise on my elbow tomorrow. I am going to check out an apartment in Ba Dinh district overlooking the West Lake at 8pm tonight. I hope it looks alright, because I want to move in and settle down as soon as possible. I am currently staying in an area that I'm not too familiar with, so I'm going to hit the streets and see if I can find somewhere nice for dinner. I could technically walk about 5 blocks in one direction and hit the backpacker district that I still remember pretty well, but I have to be back and showered in time to go to the apartment. I guess I'll just ask the nice girls who work here if they know of anywhere nice nearby. So far, so good!