my adventures in southeast asia this journal is going to be a documentation of my travels and experiences in se asia this summer. i will be traveling with my university (of which i am a recent alumna), and touring the countries of vietnam, laos, cambodia, and thailand.

The plane ride here was so long. Over 13 hours just to Soel. Then we had about a 4 hour layover and it was off to HaNoi. We had an unexpected wait once we arrived in HaNoi because the other group's flight had been delayed so instead of being the last ones to arrive and leaving straight away, we had to wait for an hour in what i thought was no air conditioning. Little did I know that the airport was air conditioned as we stepped out into one of the stickiest and hottest nights i have ever experienced. nothing could have prepared me for the humidity of Vietnam. the bus ride seemed to take forever, twisting around city roads and going in what seemed to be circles. finally we arrived at may de ville hotel and although i was tired, tony, jake, and i had to go out exploring. we walked around the lake that is just a couple blocks from our hotel and had this weird thing, it was like a fluffy roll, but white and shiny, and inside was stuffed with meat, sauce, and quail eggs. it was delicious and i am in fact craving one right now. after our little exploration i was relieved to finally be taking a shower and going to be at around 2 in the morning. vietnam is an interesting place. their buildings have influences from what seems to be all over the world. the buildings look european with huge beautiful wood doors that looks like something you wold see in bombay or bali and hanging from their balconies are chinese lanterns. there is something gothic and medieval about their structures as well, although i cannot decide if it is do to the lack of up keep and the fact the building are decrepit and seem to be crumbling or if the buildings were actually meant to reflect a sort of gothic architectural style.