Vietnam 2023 – Trip Report 17

Thursday 14 September – Hanoi

Wake up.  It’s dark.  So dark, that I know it’s still the middle of the night.

I don’t bother checking the time.  There’s no point.  That darkness, coupled with the quietness, tells me I have hours.

But it’s not completely noise free, as I can hear rain.

And it’s heavy rain.

It surprises me, and slightly worries me, but then I rest easy with the, hopefully not misguided, belief that it will have stopped by the time I get up in the morning.

Back to sleep, and some unknown hours later, I am once again awake.

This time it’s light outside.  And I can hear noise.

I can also hear rain, and it’s just as heavy as the last time I heard it.

Yep, my middle of the night belief was definitely misguided.

Time check; it’s 7.30am.

That’ll do.

There’s a Face Book message from the girl.  She’s in Kuala Lumpur waiting for her connection, so we ‘chat’ using written words.

Jetlag is painful, apparently, and she’s had enough.

Unfortunately for her, stopping now is not an option, and I show sympathy in my usual non-genuine way.

She would have expected nothing less.

I leave her to her stopover, and her ‘misery’, and check to see where Lisa is.

She left Doha an hour ago, and is about to exit the Persian Gulf.

I just love Flightradar.

The rain continues to do its thing, and apart from wondering how it’s going to impact my plans today, I can’t believe this day is finally here.

One month ago today, almost exactly to the minute, I dropped Lisa off at Tullamarine airport, and watched her disappear inside.

I drove off not knowing how, or if, I was going to cope.

In the end I did, as I probably always was, but I certainly wouldn’t say I found it easy.

Especially those first two weeks.

But now that month is done, and today’s the day I get to see her again.

Though, it just appears, at the moment anyway, that I’m going to get really wet doing that.

Downstairs by 8.30am, and I disappoint everyone again.  But I think they’ve come to know what to expect now.

Cà phê sữa đá ordered, fruit from the buffet retrieved.  Watermelon, pineapple, rambutan, along with some of that fruit that promises so much, because of its appearance, but then doesn’t quite live up to that impressive appearance, dragon fruit.

It’s still nice and all, but it’s just a bit like expecting a new puppy for Christmas, and instead you receive a cat.

I chat to Kate, who is overseeing things this morning, and she tells me about an apartment fire that occurred two nights ago, not all that far from the Old Quarter.

Tragically, somewhere in the vicinity of fifty people lost their lives, which is a sobering thought, and something I find very difficult to comprehend.

Fruit, and coffee done, along with a reminder that life can be short, I head back upstairs around 9.15am, to not only get ready, but to also nut out the day.

The rain is still coming down, and with it not looking like it’s going to stop any time soon, it makes getting a Grab Bike to the airport highly unlikely.

Which I guess will make Anh happy.

I could take the easy option and either get a Grab Car, or even just ask the Emerald if they can organise a driver, but that’s too easy, and I’d like to be a big a boy and be all independent.

If I can’t, or won’t, do Grab, then the number 86 bus is probably the preferred option.

We’ve done airport to Old Quarter a few times, but never Old Quarter to airport, so the opportunity to do something different, and new, is appealing.

But I have two concerns with that.  One, if this rain keeps up, I’m going to get very wet, as it involves a bit of a walk to get to the bus stop.

And two, I don’t actually know for sure where that bus stop is.  I know coming in this direction, it stops near Lo Su street, on the big busy road.

But is the stop going the other way pretty much in the same position, but just on the other side of the road?

I assume so, but I’m not totally sure.

Maybe I could walk up to the train station, which is where I know the 86 bus route starts?

But that also involves a reasonable walk, and walking in the wrong direction to start going in the right direction, doesn’t feel right.

All of a sudden my phone rings, which is unusual when I’m here, and my over thinking, thankfully, is put on hold.

Phone is answered, tentatively and slightly suspiciously, and there’s a male voice on the other end.

Being the astute person I am, I immediately know that he’s Vietnamese, with the reason I am able to deduce this, is that that is the language he is using to speak to me.

I listen for a few seconds, understanding nothing, and then utter, “I’m not Vietnamese”.

There’s a short silence, and then, “Oh, sorry, cảm ơn”, which is the only part of the conversation I actually understood.

He hangs up, and I’m left wondering what he was actually trying to sell me, or who he was actually trying to call.

Spam / touting text messages I get all the time when I get a Vietnamese sim, but never any phone calls, so who knows….

The decision to make a move is made, even though I’m not sure to where I’m actually moving to, and in anticipation of what I’m going to have to deal with outside, I surprise myself by coming up with the idea to put my phone in a zip-lock bag.

Yep, sometimes, but certainly not often, I do come up with reasonably clever ideas.

Downstairs, out the front door, and I come to a stop on the steps.

It is absolutely hammering down, and I can do nothing but stand there and look at it.

I just can’t bring myself to step out into it.

The desire to step out just isn’t there…..

Minutes tick by, and then the leap of faith is undertaken.  Up towards Hang Bong, hugging the buildings as I go, and making use of any awning I come across.

I reach one of the two small convenience stores on the right, and while I don’t really want to wear one, I have no choice; I need a poncho.

The man seated behind the counter looks up, and not knowing the Vietnamese word for poncho, I use the English version.

He acknowledges immediately, perhaps more due to my drowned appearance, than any language understanding, and points to a small pile of them sitting on the counter right in front of me.

“Oh”, I reply, struggling to work out why I never saw them in the first place, but at the same time, not really surprised that I missed them, given my propensity to merely ‘boy look’, for things.

10 000 Dong handed over, and the process to insert myself into a very thin, and very light, piece of plastic begins.

It’s a painful process, and I’m quickly reminded that the only thing I hate more than wearing them, is actually putting them on.

Up to Hang Bong, and turn right, and while the rain is no longer wetting my clothes and upper body, I can already feel moisture building up from underneath.

Yep, I really don’t like these things.

I reach the next intersection, and with the rain still coming down hard, I stop to take advantage of the rather large awning protruding from the shop on the corner.

I just don’t know what to do.  I don’t know where to walk, I don’t know where I’m walking to, I don’t even know if I want to walk.  I have no plan, and I’m struggling to come up with one.

The possibility of heading up to the train station, to see exactly where the number 86 bus leaves from, is considered, but then quickly dismissed as a rather dumb and pointless idea.

If I’m going to walk it, particularly in this rain, I’m only going to do it once.

With no more dumb ideas forthcoming, the decision is finally made to find a seat in a dry area, and indulge in a second cà phê sữa đá.

Down Phu Doan, and I reach the café with the little dog from before the ‘Sapa’ trip.

Cà phê sữa đá doesn’t work, so I give the alternative, cà phê nâu đá, a go.

Success!, and I’m quickly savouring one while sitting undercover on the footpath.

The coffee is good, but the enjoyment of it is tempered somewhat by my inability to make a decision on how I’m going to get to the airport.

I don’t really know why it’s so hard, and I’m frustrated that I just can’t come up with a solution.

Hanoi weather is Googled, which results in finding the weather radar, which not only confirms that it is raining, but indicates it’s going to do so for quite some time.

Staring at the ground, hoping for a lightbulb moment, I can’t help but notice the number of cockroaches scurrying about.

You see them from time to time, which never really bothers me, but today there seem to be far more.

I’m not sure why, with my suspicion being that the rain is upsetting, or perhaps exciting, them.

Don’t know, but I appreciate them taking my mind off what currently ails me.

Coffee done (25 000 Dong), and with rain having eased slightly, I head back to the Emerald just before 11.00am.

Quick toilet stop, a check of Lisa’s progress on Flightradar, which says she should be landing at 1.15pm, and a decision is finally made.

It’s going to be the bus, as it probably always should have been, and I head off back downstairs to begin the process.

A short chat with Jenny, who thinks I’m just a little bit mad to be heading out in the rain, and I’m on my way by 11.15am, all poncho’d up.

Down to Cammy’s work, and with her finally being there, I call in to quickly catch up, as well as try and confirm my belief on where the bus stop is for the number 86 bus.

Her belief is the same as mine, and while that is nice to hear, there’s a little lingering doubt in my mind that I may be wrong.

Chat had, and that time I seemed to have copious amounts of before, now seems to be disappearing rather quickly.

Back out into the streets, and down to the lake at the Northern end.

There’s a guy sweeping something towards a small pile of rubbish, and as I move towards him, I notice that the ‘something’ is actually an animal.

Initially I thought it was a frog, but as I get closer, I realise it’s a mouse.

A very wet, and rather dishevelled looking, mouse, but one that is still very much alive.

He pushes it into the pile of rubbish, but the mouse then scurries out of it.  But the guy is adamant that the mouse belongs in the rubbish, so pushes him back into it with his broom, and even moves the pile, with the mouse, a further metre on, for good measure.

I don’t know if he was successful or not, but it was rather funny to watch him go about his mouse eradication program.

Past the lake, and up Lo Su, and then across the big busy road to the bus stop on the other side, by 11.45am.

The sign lists all the local bus numbers, but slightly concerningly, there’s no mention of 86.

I convince myself that that is probably because the 86 bus isn’t a ‘local’ bus.

I stand and wait, as the rain continues to come down, and the uncomfortable feeling that I had earlier in my poncho, pales in comparison to how I feel now.  It’s done a great job at keeping me dry from the rain, but I still feel soaked underneath.

Even my hands have the same wrinkled look you get after being in a bath for an hour.

Ten minutes after arriving, I see an 86 bus go the other way.  That’s good, but I really hope that’s not the one that will be coming back this way to pick me up, after having made its way to Hanoi train station.

There’s a constant stream of local buses going past, but nothing in the colour I’m after.

12.00pm becomes 12.15pm, and apart from reuniting an umbrella with the young girl who dropped it while riding pillion with her mother, I stand on the side of the road wet, uncomfortable, bored and more than just a little frustrated and annoyed.

But I’m more annoyed at myself.  I’d had this doubt about whether the bus actually came along here when heading back to the airport, and while that is perhaps a fair and reasonable assumption, seeing as it travels this road when heading from the airport, well….., yeah…., assumptions…..

So yep, annoyed, that I didn’t take the time to research the exact bus route.  And it’s not like I haven’t had time to actually do that research.

Just before 12.30pm, and fast running out of time, I’ve had enough.  The rain has eased to little more than drizzle, and the decision is made to abort the bus exercise.

Grab App opened, and even though I can still hear Anh’s voice, I click the bike option.

A price of 240 000 Dong is quoted, which is 100 000 Dong more than what it was showing yesterday, but there are no takers.

Frustration, and panic, levels build, and the bike option, like the bus, is scrapped.

Grab Car clicked, price of 370 000 Dong quoted, which is also more than yesterday, but I have no choice.

Fortunately, he’s not too far away, and I follow his progress towards me.

The realisation then hits that the App has pinned me in the wrong location, with that location being behind me, and on the other side of the wall I’m standing in front of.

My car comes into view, and sure enough, he is on his way to the location that I am not in.

I race down the road, and then around the corner behind the wall.  Registration is checked with the App of the car that is now caught up in amongst a sea of bikes, and yep, it’s mine.

A quick tap on the window to let him know, poncho gleefully removed, and for what feels like the first time today, things seem to finally be going right.

Back out onto the busy road, and then off over the Red River.  My guy is incredibly friendly, as well as a very safe and courteous driver, and he’s keen to chat with the help of Google Translate, fortunately, using the voice option.

On we go, along familiar roads, seeing as this is the way we ended up at the airport on the way to Sapa, a week and a half ago.

Eventually onto the airport road, and then into Noi Bai itself.

His limited English enables him to say, “I wait”, and while it is slightly tempting, I decide I really need to complete some of what I set out to do today, seeing as I’ve pretty much been a complete failure up till this point.

He pulls up at the terminal at 1.15pm, 370 000 Dong fare, along with the 15 000 Dong airport fee, is paid, and I give him a cảm ơn and bid him farewell.

Into the terminal, a check of Flightradar reveals Lisa’s plane has just landed and is now taxiing towards the gate, and I work out where she’s likely to exit.

I sit and wait, minus the actual ‘sitting’, and spend some time considering airport food for lunch, seeing as I’ve not yet had lunch, before discounting that option once I see the offerings, as well as the prices of those offerings.

In the interests of research, and potentially helping people who might like to know, I check out the foreign exchange counters.

Xe.com is currently quoting 15 600 Dong to one Australian dollar, while the best rate from the exchange places is 15 200, which isn’t too far off what you’ll get in the gold / jewellery stores in the city.

That’s reassuring, and confirmation that changing money in Vietnam, even at an airport, is far better than exchanging in an airport back home, like Tullamarine.

More waiting, mainly now spent peering through the glass doors waiting for my first glimpse of her for a month, and then all of a sudden, she comes into view.

I suppress the urge to jump up and down and call out to her, as she won’t hear me or see me, and I’ll just look like an idiot in front of all these people doing the same that I’m doing, anyway.

Instead, I wait it out patiently, but not really, and then finally, she walks through those doors at 2.00pm.

It’s so good to see her, and along with the biggest hug in a very long while, there’s also a tear or two.

And yes, from me.

We head outside, and while the 86 bus has been a little elusive today, I have no problem finding it here, in all its bright orange glory.

The orange 86 bus. No problem finding it here!

Onto the bus, 45 000 Dong fare paid, and we sit and catch up on the past month, while the bus sits and waits for more passengers.

Eventually off to the domestic terminal, and then finally on our way by 2.45pm.

More chatting, but it soon becomes a one way chat, as the long flight catches up with her, and she loses the ability to keep her eyes open.

The crash and burn was always going to happen, with the only real surprise being that it took as long as it did.

Long Bien Bridge soon comes into view, which means it’s almost our turn, with the next stop being the one near Lo Su Street.

Off the bus within the hour, and suitcase retrieved.  Yes, she came back with a suitcase, because the soft bag she took got too heavy, and with no wheels, was too hard to carry.

We begin the short walk down to Lo Su, with a quick glance across the road at the bus stop that will forever be remembered as the one I needlessly stood at, in the rain, for 45 minutes.

Down to the lake, struggling with a suitcase that doesn’t even belong to me; thankfully the rain has stopped; and then around the Northern end, with a slight detour to reach Bao Khanh Street, to find our pork skewer bánh mì lady.

Two are ordered (25 000 Dong each), and then the walk continues, suitcase still in hand, and getting heavier by the minute, up towards St Joseph’s.

Quick photo, of course, and then it’s down the Emerald to put the long travelled one out of her misery.

Lisa slightly preoccupied with her first bánh mì, while photographing St Joseph’s.

Inside and a just a quick hello to Kate as she’s busy with other customers, then upstairs to finally rid myself of someone else’s suitcase and belongings, and to leave Lisa to do the nap thing.

That’s okay, with it now being a touch after 4.00pm, I’m late, so it’s straight back outside and up to Bat Dan.

Seat taken, beer arrives, the usual sights in front of me, and with Lisa finally back in the same country as me, the world feels just that little bit more ‘normal’.

Happy days!

Pyjama guy rocks up; yep, seems a much more friendly version of him this year; and one of the cats welcomes me back by jumping onto my lap.

That’s going to shock Lisa if she ever sees that happen….

A western tourist comes by, takes a seat next to my table, and strikes up a conversation.

Turns out he’s from Sydney, his name is Matt, and he’s only just arrived in Vietnam, after having spent the last month in Thailand.

He’s very easy to talk to, and seeing as the Vietnam thing is all very new to him, he’s got plenty of questions.

Which means he’s going to be in trouble, because I can talk about Vietnam until your eyes glaze over.

He’s somewhat saved when Lisa, now slightly more refreshed, but still struggling a little, turns up just after 5.00pm.

I’m pleased she’s made it, partly due to the fact that she feels up to it, but mainly because she actually managed to get here without getting lost….

Introductions done, and the chatting continues with our new friend.

We part ways a little after 6.00pm, but with the hope, and belief, that we’ll likely be doing this again at some point.

Back to the Emerald to get cleaned up, and then out and around the corner to our phở place, for phở bò.

Two times 50 000 Dong, and two times 20 000 Dong for beer, and the realisation hits me that my expenses have now doubled.

But lucky, as per usual, it’s really good, and lucky that I love her.

Dinner done, and I drag her up to Bat Dan.

Beers for me, Coke for Lisa, and we sit and chat while interacting with my young beer guy.

He looks and seems so much more comfortable, not just when dealing with this strange western tourist, but in his whole job in general.

It’s really good to see, and I love that he has so much more confidence.

She must have been happy to see me, too.

Getting close to 10.00pm, and with Lisa starting to struggle, as expected, and not hiding it at all well, which is always expected, we make a move back to our home for the next week.

Into Stainless Steel Street, a quick detour to my, and now once again our, convenience store for a few more beers, a packet of chips, along with my favourite bright red soap, and then back out and off to the Emerald.

A quick chat with Anh, who seems very happy to see that Lisa has arrived, probably because he thinks she’ll have more control over any silly ideas like catching a Grab Bike to the airport, and then it’s upstairs for the usual Trip Advisor-ing stuff, as well as a few notes, on the bed.

It’s been a long time coming; first two weeks at home, and then a good two and a half weeks here, but we’re now back doing our thing.

Today was a bit of a write off, as it was always going to be, and while ‘my’ room is now far messier and more crowded, not to mention the doubling of the food expenses, it’s just so great to have her back.

I’ve really missed the sharing of experiences.

Not much in the way of plans tomorrow, apart from popping in to see Hip at 1984 Tattoo Studio, so she can see Lisa’s tattoo.

So yeah, probably another of those ‘nothing’ type days, but that’s alright, a ‘nothing’ day here in Hanoi is always so much more than it sounds.

Cheers,

Scott