in Sapa!

At the moment, I'm in Sapa in Northwest Vietnam. The terraced hills and the green montains are amazing! The one thing I have noticed about Vietnam is that people are really aggressive and in your face. I've only now started noticing how calm vendors in Thailand and Burma are. They will follow you for a few blocks and grab your arms at times!

Also... here is the view from my corner room at $5 a person.

What I have noticed however, is that I can look Vietnamese, Thai, or Burmese as long as I keep my mouth shut. Usually my attempts to blend in fail because I have a big backpack, i start talking, or i stand around with a map/ distintive lonely planet book.

Later tonight, I hop on a train from Sapa back to Hanoi in hopes of getting out before the typhoon headed this way brings landslides and floods the traintracks. I've heard that the last time this happened, people got stuck for 10 days. This time the Sapa government has made all hotel owners tell their tourists to get out ASAP (so everyone is leaving at the latest, tonight).

Sapa is really relaxing (minus the vendors and the oncoming typhoon).