Vietnam

Vietnam

Country number 3 on my travels; I left Bangkok / Thailand behind on a very early morning but already warm and the sun was coming out just before I took off.

The Ryanair of Asia is Airasia, but with much better service, planes, stylish uniform and staff. After a smooth 1,45hr flight I arrived in a foggy and slightly chilli (warm for European standards) Hanoi.

Unfortunately, I didn’t have a visa – incl at least 50 others- so we had to queque and fill in some forms and hand over a photo but half an hour later I had my ‘stamp’ in my passport and could collect my bag at the conveyer belt. So far so good, I’m now getting used to the taxi drivers trying to get your service for and overpriced ride into town so I ignored them and headed to the shuttle bus which is only us$2 for an hours commute to the buzzing centre of Hanoi. I was the first to get in and I was told that the bus would leave in 15 min. I know now that also this is never true but after half an hour I got annoyed as the bus was almost full and no movement. It felt more if I was at a crowded market square with screaming people and yes there we go again the tv with a very bad Vietnamese soap on volume 10. So with my shuffle on 10 I was patiently waiting to leave. It also didn’t help that I had a friendly lady next to me who wanted to chat but communication was a bit difficult due to the language barrier. Her phone went off every 10 minutes which was in her trouser pocket and to get it out she had to lean over to me to get it out. After 3 times I clearly wasn’t happy so I gave her ‘the look’ but not sure it helped. After many stops the bus ride almost reached its destination, a thirty something, smart looking guy came and sat next to me and started a conversation (earphones out, earphones in for me…). His English was quite good and we talked about Vietnam, his work in HCMC and my visit to Hanoi. He wanted to know where I was going so I could hear some alarm bells in the back of my head but I told him the area and the road and he said oh but that’s a coincidence as that is a couple of roads from my family home (ring ring ring). He offered to help me with a taxi which I wasn’t sure if that was a good idea but I just went with it. So we ended up in taxi together, I had my map in my hand and was trying to keep up with the route while he was chatting away….  Suddenly we stopped and he said this is your road and your hotel should be an the end of it. I looked at the meter and it was just 53.000 dong (£1.50) for the ride, so I gave him my money and got the correct change back. Then my ‘friend’ said well do you have a couple of hundred dongs left for me to get home (RING RING RING). So I said: well thank you for your assistance to find my hotel but I already paid for the ride so far so the rest is up to you, have a nice day! In fairness he helped me and he thought I can always try, only I don’t understand that someone working for a bank in HCMC still wants a lady to pay for his taxi ride home!

The Hoan Kiem Lake

The rest of my time in Hanoi went all smoothly, the hotel is great with friendly people, and is situated in a Soho style area. There are many food stalls or little local eateries with locals which produces lovely food. I have lunch and dinner there to try the local Pho or bun bo hue (noodle soup), nem (springrolls) and bai hoi (draft beer for £0.25). People are friendly but reserved and don’t speak much of English so I’m trying to learn some basic Vietnamese. The city has a nice vibe but is swamped with scooters so crossing the road is sometimes a kamikaze run for your life.

To top it all up this morning my dear friend Paul arrived to join me for the next month through Vietnam and Cambodia! It’s really nice to see a familiar face (no offence Michel) and catch up with London life, friends and most of all to enjoy this adventure together.

We’ve booked today our trips to Sapa  (mountains) and Halong Bay for the next 5 days. After that we’re making our way South (warmer, sunnier weather) for Christmas and New Year.

Next time more from the ‘new Brangelina’!

Bun bo hue

Pho Tien