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A6 notebook + mechanical pencil are an indispensable part of my travel kit. i always worry that i will lose my phone at some point so important addresses are written there.
pen and paper can be very useful in places with a different language/writing system. there was a time i looked for a specific product that i had a difficulty describing. fortunately, i met a local who can speak english and asked him to write down the local name of the said product. it can be done on the phone but i find that older people are more comfortable writing with a pen and paper.
for everyday, i use my phone s native notes app for quick jots but still carry with me a notebook and pencil.

thanks for the detailed description. feels like my online vocabulary expanded significantly

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glad to answer your question s, as i too had many doubts with with method.

yes, it was a full sized towel provided by the hotel.
i did one shirt at a time. did the burrito twice per shirt. the towel was a bit moist afterwards but i think i could still have dried another shirt. i am a very small person though so it could be different for bigger shirts.

travel towels are on the thinner side so am not sure if they can take as much moisture.

thanks. and totally agree. i meant to use these shirts exclusively for travel (which i dont do too often) so i think wringing wont do much damage. those shirts were very cheap too (~ 3USD). glad i tested this method- i was always doubtful about this (dripping clothes, time, ease) but now i see that it is completely doable. no dripping at all and no need for a hanging line if there are (nonwood) edges in a room. the next night i tried to lay a shirt on a tables edge and it still worked.

went on a trip to Taipei. not one bag, brought multiple bags because I planned to buy a lot of food to bring back to family. Taipei in July is very hot and humid, had to change my shirt around mid afternoon. i havent tried the towel drying method yet, figured it was a great time to test it. hand washed the 2 shirts I used, then rolled them up one by one. by the time i hung them up, they were no longer dripping. after ~8 hrs, they were completely dry and wrinkle-free. steps I took:

1. skipped the stepping on the towel part. instead, i wrung the shirt to remove excess water.
2. rolled the shirt-towel into a burrito and made sure that the roll is very tight then wrung it again.
3. flipped the towel and also flipped the shirt. made sure that the opposite side of the shirt now makes contact with the fresh side of the towel.
4. repeat the rolling and wringing.
5. flicked each shirt with a strong wrist movement (snapped to reduce wrinkles).
6. hung them on the backs of plastic chairs.

these were ordinary cotton shirts (Hanes, to be specific), i did not use travel shirts with specialized blends.

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i can almost hear Maria trilling in the background. that is the Earthsea collection, right? lovely volume. my favorite among them is ‘the tombs atuan’. thought i would not like it because of the single setting but the character development is superb.

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i am constantly on the lookout but have not bought anything for years. serious travel bags are expensive and id hate to be disappointed. my current rotation of thrifted and gifted bags have plenty of room for improvement but they suffice for now.

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if a ~6h travel time is alright with you, i highly recommend Ha Giang City. it felt very rural for a provincial center. when i visited there years ago, the streets were very clean, cars, motorcycles, and people were sparse.
another great thing about Ha Giang City is that it is the gateway to more remote villages if you find the city too busy. just driving through Ha Giang Province was a delight, it was my first time passing through such expansive limestone structures.
the same can be said for many places nearer Hanoi. for example Ninh Binh, outside the more touristy area, has quiet towns dotted with limestone hills which make it seem like the land equivalent of Ha Long Bay.
in Hanoi itself, the most peaceful spot i visited was the Museum of Fine Arts. i really enjoyed taking in the paintings and sculptures there (and the quiet).
it can be a little challenging to talk with locals outside Hanoi because a lot of them do not speak English but i found most of them very helpful.
wishing you a great time there.

i have only been to the northern half of Vietnam (Nin Bihn, Hanoi, Quang Yen, Quang Ninh, Ha Giang, and Cao Bang) and enjoyed it thoroughly. someone i met who traveled there more extensively told me that she finds the southern cuisine more flavourful, the northern food is bland in comparison. as someone who was not exposed to the south, i liked northern food, found it refreshingly light.
have a wonderful trip.