Here are just some random thoughts really. I’m on the road in Son La Province in northwestern Vietnam. I spent 12 hours in a car today. Then I was driven two blocks from my hotel to a restaurant for dinner, where we had to park a block away. The room I’m sleeping in has blue and pink neon lights above the bed. I just noticed.
We got lost a few times driving here from Hanoi. We were searching for houses with no addresses. We’d pull people over on the side of the road and ask where so-and-so lived and almost everyone–if we were close enough–knew who we were talking about. They’d bring us a little closer until they lost the scent, then we’d be passed off to the next person. It went on like that for some time until we were given a phone number. Then it went more quickly.
Moc Chau is apparently well-known for its milk and milk products, so when we passed through, I got a bag of white milk-based candies. It’s like if someone filled a packing peanut with loads of sugar and nuts and then baked it, I imagine. Not entirely terrible. I also saw graffiti in Son La town of a crudely drawn Lamborghini with a buffalo next to it. It rained some earlier. I wanted to sleep but couldn’t. I’m exhausted. So that’s what’s happening now.
from swerve of shore 