I’m not sure how to feel about today

Got a breakfast Banh Mi, or what I’m calling a breakfast one since it had eggs & what I’m pretty sure is a hotdog in there. Also a cup of villanously strong coffee with condensed milk in it.

Yes, it’s the same place as before. Stop judging me; I like it there.

Taking some street scene pictures; It’s not always insanely crowded on the streets.

My plan was to try to book a few things, then wander over to Ho Chi Minh’s mausoleum, but … That didn’t happen.

I’d had some ideas for stuff I was interested in, but when I talked to the hostel folks, they turned out not to be that sensible from a travel time point of view, then things were maybe not available, and some alternatives were suggested, and … It all got a bit too much. I noticed that I was breathing very fast & shallow, and thinking became increasingly difficult, and maybe the staff saw it too, because they suggested that I take some time to think about it

There’s a moment here, or more accurately about five minutes here, where I was a hair’s breadth from giving up. It wasn’t pretty, and it wasn’t fun.

So I did that, looked up their suggestions, and decided that they seemed like a good plan, so booked it, party through the hostel & partly myself.

• Tour/Cruise to Cat Ba island
• Two nights on Cat Ba
• Bus to Ninh Binh
• Two nights at Ninh Binh

The suggestion was to then head further South to Hoi An, but a friend in the UK recommended Ninh Binh as a place to chill for a few days “if you have the time”, and I think maybe that’s a good idea?

I’ve got a bus booked from Ho Chi Minh City, and the vague idea was to work my way down the country, but I don’t have to do that. I could just fly to HCMC, or skip it entirely, if that turns out to be easier.

Anyway, enough on that. It’s booked, and a deposit paid, though it was a bit late in the day when it was finalised, so I’m still waiting on finding out who the rest of the money goes to & how I prove that I’m the right person. Maybe they take my word for it, I don’t know.

I’m not temperamentally suited to this place, I think.

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Stairwell at the hostel. That railing is low enough that it’s really more of a trip hazard, and the glass lift shaft as one wall is a smidge disconcerting.

Went out to a different cafe, from which I photographed the previous one.

So, a pretty exhausting day, but hopefully some progress was made.

I hope the travel plan is a good one. I hope that there’s some documentation or tickets or something on their way, because the idea of trusting that someone is going to turn up at the appointed place and time with no idea who they are, or who to contact if they don’t, seems insanely stressful.

And I hope I never have another moment like this one.