It was 5:00 a.m. in Hanoi, Vietnam. It was my first morning there and I wanted to make sure I started my trip off right. I quietly snuck past my sleeping travel partners to make my way to see the sunrise.
I love seeing the sunrise. It signals a new day, a new beginning, a fresh start.
It's a spiritual time for me. It's time for me to thank the universe for another day on planet earth. I walked a few blocks from our hostel to Hoà n Kiếm Lake. The sky was a magnificent pink and the surrounding buildings were reflecting in the lake's water. It felt like the universe had given me a mutual thank you for putting for the effort to greet it.
I began to walk around the lake and was blown away by the number of people up at 5:00 a.m. They were dancing, fishing, biking, and enjoying the cool hours of the morning. I smiled as I walked around, appreciating the culture of exercise,
and that's when I heard my favorite type of exercise happening... laughter yoga.
I recognized the laughter exercises they were doing. I had gone to a laughter yoga class a handful of times in San Diego. My heart lit up as I neared the group and they must've sensed it. A gorgeous woman in red gave me a humongous smile and waved me over.
We laughed and played for an hour. My soul shined from the inside out. It was the most beautiful welcome I have ever received in a country and a moment that made me believe I was exactly where I was meant to be.
To learn more about my trip in Vietnam, check out the video I compiled of the places we went and the people we met: Vietnam, July 2019.