They fixed my drone in Hanoi yesterday! I drove a total of 9 hours on the bike yesterday. That means today I chilled heavy. I am currently in the Mai Chau district. It's a nice area in a valley surrounded by beautiful rice fields. There are a lot of Israeli backpackers here — it seems like a secret Israeli spot.
I drove back to Pu Luong today to see the beautiful mountainous terraced rice fields. I ran in the morning but not very well. The altitude really makes running hard.
I want to say some things about countries, cultures, and ethnicities. Many times when I think of a country — for example, "Vietnam" — I group all the people together as "Vietnamese people." This is a very 2025 limited worldview. Traveling throughout SE Asia, I've learned about the complexity of ethnic, cultural, and national identities. It's very stupid to view people purely by their nationality — especially in countries where the nations themselves are less than 100 years old.
This hit home while traveling in the mountains. You pass various ethnic minority villages, which are not "Vietnamese" per se. Vietnam is home to 54 officially recognized ethnic groups, with the Kinh (Viet) being the largest, making up about 85% of the population. The remaining 53 ethnic minorities include groups with distinct languages, traditions, and histories. Through my travels, it seems that people identify most closely with their ethnicity. I can say that's true even for myself.
When you take a look at yourself and ask "Who am I?", what do you think? Your ethnicity greatly influences your culture and customs — much more than your nationality, I'd argue.
I want to integrate into the culture here more. I think that comes with understanding the diverse ethnic and cultural history. Riding a motorbike for so many hours alone is great for some introspection.
My birthday is in three days. I think life is about never being satisfied. You can always improve. You can improve your mind, body, spirituality, emotions. I'm not satisfied. I want to improve in all my faculties. That being said, you have to have respect and happiness for the current state of things — and recognize how far you've come.
