Twice blessed - lucky me! Tim had to return to Hanoi, Vietnam for work, and I was able to join him. I so enjoyed our last visit there - one of my favorite places in Asia. It has the gentle Buddhist personality of Thailand with a greater agricultural presence of duck farms and emerald green rice paddies bordered by the ornate stone and marble grave sites of the ancestors. And although the French occupation left many painful scars, it also left some beautiful, classic architecture. I jumped at the chance to return.
We left Thailand before sunup on Monday morning. The lines at the airport were longer than we'd ever seen them, and I had to force myself not to think about how close we were cutting it. I remembered vaguely reading about greater crowds at Suvarnabhumi due to the temporary closure of a terminal or something, but it didn't click until we actually witnessed it. Thankfully, we had just enough time to change some money before meeting two colleagues from Tim's work team, who were waiting for us at the gate.
In under two hours we arrived at the airport in Hanoi. I joined the queue of travelers to get my tourist visa, which took no more than fifteen minutes. Then we picked up our luggage, and our travel companions stopped to pick up sim cards for their phones. Ford had a van waiting for us, and we were soon on our way to the hotel. Or so we thought. K. Ja was looking at the GPS on her phone, and realized that we were getting farther and farther from the hotel! A miscommunication led the driver to think we were going straight to the plant. At that point, we were already nearly an hour into the hour-and-a-half drive to the plant, so it was decided that we would continue on. I felt sorry for the others, who were hoping to clean up and change before going into work. Fortunately for me, another van was transporting a couple of other people back to the city from the plant soon after we arrived. So I was able to ride back to the city and be dropped at the hotel with everyone's luggage. I would have hated to have someone make that long trip just for me. With no afternoon agenda, I just relaxed and enjoyed the scenery along the way.
(I read somewhere that Vietnam has a lot of traffic, but follows the "allow and forgive" philosophy. Isn't that lovely?)
Finally arriving at the Hilton Hanoi Opera hotel, the excellent staff helped bring in all the luggage, and allowed me to check into the room without Tim, whose name was on the reservation. When I mentioned that the room smelled a bit smoky, they immediately contacted housekeeping to come "refresh" the room. I wasn't sure what that would entail, but I figured I should give them the benefit of the doubt.
I looked online for somewhere nearby to walk for lunch, and had a place all set. Unfortunately I went 180° from the way I was supposed to go. When I finally realized my error, I settled for a Subway look-alike called Ibanhmi and had a chicken something or other sandwich - meh. Strolled around a bit afterward, and saw a young couple posing for wedding photos in front of a beautiful, old fountain in one of the many parks in the city. Also saw a giant lotus flower in the middle of an intersection.
Returned to my "refreshed" room, which really did smell refreshed with a scented oil burner lit in the bathroom. Went up to the executive lounge for the complimentary afternoon tea, then returned later that evening with Tim and crew for complimentary drinks and enough hors d'oeuvres that we didn't need to go out for dinner.
I spent much of the next day getting lost in the old quarter. I wound up at the north-end wholesale market district, Cho Dong Xuan. Lots of interesting sights here, but I was deterred from doing much browsing by being politely informed that there was "no retail!" Still, the fresh market outside had plenty to see.
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| Chinese softshell turtle (I think) |
Managed to find my way back to the hotel, changed out of my sweaty clothes (already hot here, but not as hot as it was in July), and went to look for some late lunch. I'd read an article that morning about different classic Vietnamese dishes, and thought I'd see what I could find. Wound up at Moc Cafe, a tiny but charming little shop with small wooden tables and chairs, and a couple of intense patrons puffing away on their cigarettes. I ordered Quang Noodles on recommendation from Trip Advisor. Very nice - a little sweet, and not too spicy.
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| Bia (beer) Ha Noi |
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| a line of cyclos passing by in the far lane |
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| an on-the-street barber - low overhead |
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| a better look at that fountain |
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