Turns out this typhoon is a bigger deal than I realized. Our group had to cancel our overnight boat trip at Ha Long Bay, and also a paddle in on the Red River. We spent Monday wading through a 400 year old temple in Ninh Binh. The deluge added to the moody jungle ambience of the ancient structures.

Our group remains surprisingly cheerful in spite of the typhoon. I’m disappointed that weather I usually spend fortunes to get away from has followed me here. But it could be worse. Although the hotel hallways are flooded, we have not lost power or internet for more than a short period of time. Cannon Beach is worse in the winter time. Our hotel, however, is not living up to its name.

Vietnam is an interesting country. The inflation is like 700%, and the money is worthless. I went to the ATM yesterday and got out $2,000,000 Vietnamese dong which amounts to about US$76. In Vietnam I am a millionaire. I managed to get a great massage, which you don’t have to be a millionaire to afford in SE Asia.

Speaking of millions, Hanoi has about 10,000,000 people. Most people commute on motorbikes. One of our itinerary days this week would have involved getting around the coastal town of Hue on motorbikes. Not sure I’m up for that, rain or no rain.

The restaurants we’ve eaten at have broken up the monotony of the incessant downpour. Vietnamese food consists of a lot of vegetables and sticky rice, fruits like pineapple, mango and passion fruit, tofu and beef, chicken and goat meat. I can skip the goat meat; got more than enough of that in Kenya. So far it’s been sort of bland, which is too bad because I like hot spice. But maybe they are catering to what they think the tourists prefer.