9th of Mar

16:00@Bangkok airport

Even though it was a long journey from Amsterdam to here, I haven’t reached my final destination. Though I slept for a while on the bench in the airport, I was still so exhausted.  But at the same time, the atmosphere of South East Asia made me relax and I felt like coming back to home!

20:00@Hanoi

Finally I arrived at Hanoi. It had been two years since I came here last. Each time I come to Vietnam, I am surprised that how fast this country grows. I visited Vietnam in 2005 for the first time. At that time, I rarely saw cars in the city. But now, the number of cars increased obviously though the majority is still motor bike. The rapid economic growth of this country is quite visible.

I took a taxi at the airport and head my friend house.

21:00@My friend house

When I got to my friend house, her family gave a warm welcome to me. Her mother hugged me and served hot meal for me. As this is the house of my friend who I met in Newcastle, this is the first time to meet her family. But they treat me just as their daughter. Her parents call me ‘con’ which is a second person pronoun used when they call their own child in Vietnamese.