When I ask them about road conditions to Hanoi, Grandaunt launches into her litany of why I should abandon my trip. “The roads are dangerous,” she says. “The country is not safe.” “People are very poor,” Granduncle adds, in agreement. “This isn’t Japan or America. This is worse than Mexico.”He’s never been out of the country. “They’ll kill you for a bicycle,” says Viet. “I was stabbed right around the corner by two muggers. They wanted my motorcycle.” Hung shows me the scar beneath his shirt. “One thousand seven hundred kilometers on a bicycle to Hanoi! A bicycle! When your parents find out
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