Vietnam 2023 – Trip Report 24

Thursday 21 September – Hanoi – Can Tho

Eyes open – 5.30am.  Good, back to sleep!

It actually works, and the alarm does its thing at 6.45am.

I really, really, need to change that bloody tune…..

Get organised, and we, yes we, undertake that packing thing I love so much.

But the ‘we’ soon becomes ‘I’, as Lisa packs a bag, or in this case, our newly acquired suitcase, the way she fills a fridge.

Which means it’s done in a way with little to no thought given about how all of it is going to fit in, with the attitude being, ‘Oh, there’s a spot!’

Remember, this suitcase contains 19.9kgs of stuff that travelled around Europe.  With the majority of that ‘stuff’, now being of absolutely no use in Vietnam.

Unless of course you want to use the suitcase for weight and fitness training…..

Yes, I’m such a morning person.  Especially when I’m leaving Hanoi.

The good news, however, is that apart from my frustrated and rather melancholy state of mind, I actually feel okay.

The cold is still there, but we’re definitely on the other side.

Suitcase finally packed, all tetris style, and we make our way downstairs for the final time by 7.30am.

A quick cà phê sữa đá, and then as we chat with Kate at the front desk, Anh walks in.

“Ahhh, Anh!”, is my surprised reaction when he appears, which is most definitely a happy surprise, as I hadn’t seen him for the last few days.

Kate then surprises me even more when she explains that Anh is actually driving us to the airport, of which I am very happy about.

Final goodbyes done with Kate, but done with a hẹn gặp lại, along with a hug, and we head outside to the car.

Suitcase and bags in, and while Anh has a quick smoke, Kate opens the back door of the car for me.

“Sorry, not yet”, I say, shaking my head, and then explaining that I need to stand on Hanoi ‘soil’ for as long as I can.

She laughs, but I think she gets it.

Anh finishes his smoke, a little quicker than I hoped, and we’re on our way.

Through the streets of the Old Quarter, and it’s the usual sights of early morning Hanoi.

And not for the first time, in fact, it happens every time we leave, those sights look different to when we are just merely walking around the streets.  Which is something I’ve never really understood why.

I’m looking at them more intently, because I know my time seeing them is about to run out?

Maybe.

But maybe it’s more than that.  Maybe it’s because we’re ‘stuck’ in a car, and as such, not really a part of it.  And with the sounds muffled, maybe my visual sense is more heightened?

I don’t know, and even though it’s something I’ve always noticed, I’ve just never stopped to really think about why.

Out of the Old Quarter, and while my nose is perhaps not pushed quite as hard up against the window, I’m still looking out of it.

But there’s also a fair bit of chatting with Anh, and I can’t help but feel rather lucky that we have him taking us to the airport.

It kind of closes our Hanoi stay, while also reconfirming that Emerald family thing, that’s pretty much been there since our first stay.

Over the big bridge; such memories, and then we pull up outside the Noi Bai domestic terminal at 8.30am.

That bloody suitcase retrieved, a much appreciated cảm ơn, as well as a handshake, and then most definitely a hẹn gặp lại, to Anh, and we head inside.

The realisation then hits me that I’ve actually been here, at the airport, three of the last four Thursdays.

Funny when planned stuff works out, even though you didn’t realise you’d planned it….

A bit of a crowd at check in, but nothing a bit of people watching can’t make tolerable, and we’re, or should I say, I, am rid of the suitcase.

At least for a couple of hours.

Through security, without hassle, but I do have to wait for Lisa when her knee sets off the metal detector.

She’s always the one that holds things up….

We find our gate, and a seat, and it takes all of two minutes before Lisa mentions a cà phê sữa đá, along with the possibility of a bánh mì.

The coffee I would be more than happy with, the bánh mì, well, it’s food, and I can easily substitute food for a coffee.

And there’s the fact that it’s airport food, along with the associated airport cost.

In the interests of marriage harmony, I relent.  But only by handing over a 500 000 Dong note, and getting her to undertake the task.

Two reasons; I can’t be bothered searching and making a decision, and I also can’t bring myself to be looking at, and then paying, the amount they will be asking.

Oh well, on the positive side, at least I get to break a 500 000 note….

She heads off, I sit and do Tripadvisor stuff, and before I know it, she’s back.

Cà phê sữa đá, and my bánh mì, handed over, along with 210 000 Dong in change.

Which is about 200 000 Dong less than I would have had returned, had we still been in the city.

Yeah, airports…..

But, surprisingly, the bánh mì is alright.  Well, it is once I fish all the huge painful looking chilli pieces out of it.

I’m not burning my mouth now, and I’m not, well,……ummm, being reminded of it, and then dealing with it, later, either.

Food done, coffee strung out until the ridiculous amount of ice begins to have a detrimental impact on said coffee, and I walk around aimlessly, watching planes land and take off, which never gets boring, as well as checking out airport prices of things not food related.

Which, strangely, doesn’t really get boring either.

Back to my seat, more Tripadvisor, check emails, and have a look at XE.com, which this morning, says 15 600 to one Australian dollar.

Makes the offered 15 700 last night look pretty good.

Damn stubbornness….

We sit some more, and all of a sudden there’s movement at our gate, with some Vietnam Airlines’ staff getting things ready.  And that’s all they’re doing, getting things ready, by moving around signs.  No boarding call, no announcement of any kind.

But as is often the way, there’s always one, as a guy races up to be first in line.

He’s quickly, and assertively, told it’s not going to happen, so he meekly returns to his seat, while I take far more pleasure out of what I just witnessed, than I probably should.

People in airports…..

A little more sitting, a little more waiting, a little removing of that cà phê sữa đá, and then the boarding call.

Followed quickly, as in very quickly, by the mad rush to be the first on.

People in airports…..

We sit and wait some more, and as the queue diminishes, we make our move.

Our turn.

Down the stairs, but the bus is full, so a little more waiting is required.

Another turns up, this one with big luxurious seats, but with two hours of sitting ahead of us, we stand.

We drive the tarmac, find our plane, and with both front and rear doors open, we have a choice.

Well, not really, as we’re in row 42, and as such, we have no need for the stairs at the pointy end.

Easy decision.

Up the back stairs, and the door is closed behind Lisa after she steps on.  First or last, you still get on.

Although of course, being last on means you miss out on most of the fun, when people, bags, and overhead luggage compartments come together…..

We get pushed back around 10.15am, and as we do, the safety video comes on.  And yep, it gets me again.

Down to the far end of the runway, and we take off right on time, towards the East, with that East, for some reason, always feeling like North to me.

We swing around to the right, and being on the right side of the plane, with nose once again pressed up against a window, I get to see Hanoi a little longer.

It’s that not wanting to let go, thing.

The bridge over the Red River, which we drove across earlier, is visible, and once again, a memory comes flooding back; Toan and that sudden downpour.

I look down on Hanoi until it disappears, and then as I begin to be reminded of the early-ish start, I try to recoup some lost sleep.

Of course, it doesn’t work.  What was I thinking, I’m on a plane…..

The flight attendants roll out the food carts, and today’s offering is a croissant-y type thing, which is rather sweet, as is their tendency with such things, but it has chicken in the middle, which tastes like chicken, and isn’t sweet.

From a western viewpoint, which essentially is just my opinion, they really aren’t that good at stuff like this.

There’s also a nougat biscuity thing, which, yeah, not really a fan, as well as a tiny little oat biscuit, about the size of a tablet you’d normally swallow.

Why…..???

I struggle through the croissant thing, eating around the chicken so that I can have the good savoury thing last.

About an hour into the flight, and I’m back looking intently at the outside world.  I can actually see Hue, which in 2014, would have been a good thing, as it would have meant that I wasn’t actually in Hue.  But now, after revisiting it last year, my thoughts have changed, and I have a rather strong yearning to return.

Yep, funny how things evolve….

I keep looking, hoping for a glimpse of Danang, but no real desire to walk its streets, but the plane begins heading inland, so my window reveals none of the sprawling land that the city, along with its many upmarket resorts, sits upon.

On we go, nose still pressed against the window, looking down on the landscape of Vietnam.  It’s a nice feeling, knowing we still have a week, but also rather sobering, when you realise there is only that one week left.

Again, that looking too far ahead thing…..

Just before 12.30pm, and on time, we are once again back on the ground.  U-turn performed at the end of the not busy runway, that is Can Tho International airport, and we make our way towards the terminal.

In the rain, which I hadn’t stopped to consider.

We pull up at the aerobridge, and being in row 42 of 44, we just sit and wait, comfortable in the knowledge that we ain’t getting off anytime soon.

Eventually it’s our turn, and it’s off the plane and into the terminal.  Quick toilet stop, then back out to retrieve the problem that is the suitcase, with it, fortuitously I guess, being one of the first off.

Grab app opened as we walk towards the doors, while Lisa asks what our plan is, and by the time she finishes asking her question, a car is booked.

Outside, and the good news is that it’s stopped raining.  The not so good news, is that while I can see on my phone that our car is nearby, I can’t actually work out exactly where both it, and us, are.

The scouring of numberplates eventually results in a match, and we’re quickly on our way towards the city.

Into Can Tho, and then out, before turning off down a familiar looking road.

The countryside of the Mekong becomes our view, and it’s nice to see it again.

Past our lunch place from last year, and then over the bridge that signals Green Village is, essentially, below.

Knowing the ‘road’ from here is not the most user friendly for cars, I explain to our driver that he can drop us here.

Fare of 172 000 Dong, plus 10 000 Dong airport toll, is rounded up, and that suitcase once again becomes my problem.

Off along the narrow road, and around to the right under the bridge.  The hellos and acknowledgements from a few of the locals we pass immediately reminds me of my love for, not just this area, but for all of the Mekong.

Just after 1.30pm, which is pretty much six hours door to door; so much for it’s ‘only’ a two hour flight; we head down the driveway of Green Village.  Over towards the communal area, and as we approach, Thy suddenly appears.

It is just so great to see her again, and we’re quickly seated at one of the tables, catching up over ice cold passionfruit juice.

We’re shown to our ‘home’ for the next three nights, and this time, because a couple of the huts are being rebuilt, we’re in one of the huts on the other side of the pond.

A quick unpack, and then a walk of the grounds to get reacquainted.

So good to see it again.

The desire for a walk outside along the canals is put on hold, with rather dark and threatening looking clouds rolling in above.

But nothing eventuates, and with the sky looking brighter, we head out.  Off to the right along the canal, and a small family run convenience store is found not too far along, which is very, well…, convenient.

On we go, sharing the ‘road’ with dogs, a goat, chickens, and very friendly locals, and then the scenery begins to change.

A lot of houses that used to overlook the canal, are either no longer, or shortly will be, no longer.

It’s a bit hard to work out what’s going on, but the suspicion is that some construction noise coming from further down the canal, may have something to do with this de-construction.

We reach a bridge across the canal and head over, and the source of the noise is found.  Huge pylons are being driven into the ground, and the power, along with the vibration felt through the ground, is incredible.

It appears to be a bridge in the early stages of construction, along with what looks like could ultimately become a fairly significant road.

Progress and all, I guess, and while it’s incredibly unfortunate for the nearby locals who have been ‘moved on’, from a purely personal and selfish point of view, I’m very pleased that it’s far enough away from Green Village that it won’t impact them.

We head back ‘home’, stopping at our newly found convenience store for a large water and a packet of chips, but no bar of soap, which, with the help of Google Translate, is simply because they don’t stock bars of soap.

Back to Green Village, and Thy confirms that the construction we just saw is actually going to be the extension of the expressway between Saigon and Can Tho.  And yep, very fortunately, its location is not going to be an issue for Green Village.

She then asks if we’d like to go with her and her cousin, who will be doing the driving, to pick Andrea up from school?

“Love to”, is the response, and we’re soon on our way back into Can Tho.

Andrea picked up, and we head to a café for a late afternoon cà phê sữa đá, as well as a pre-dinner snack.

But it’s no ordinary café, with its real appeal being the many fish that call it home.

They’re in a fairly large ‘pool’, which you can actually get in, if ‘swimming with the fishes’, is your thing.

Otherwise, you can merely dip your fingers in the water to interact with the incredibly numerous, and colourful, fish.

I have to warn though, that the sensation of fish kissing and sucking your fingers, along with the associated sound, is one very strange experience.

To the point that uncontrollable giggling like a little girl, could well be, and in my case was, the result.

Regardless, it was well worth seeing, and I’m very pleased that Thy took us to check it out.

Very colourful. And very keen on your fingers.

Back to Green Village around 6.30pm, and dinner, which tonight is bánh xèo, is in the process of being served.

Seat taken, food arrives, and as it always is here, it’s really good.  But one each is more than enough, especially after our earlier snack at the fish café, and a third to share is politely declined.

Dinner is finished off with some dragon fruit and watermelon, along with a few beers, and we spend some time talking to an incredibly friendly Swiss couple, who are heading to Con Dao Island tomorrow.

A quick chat with Thy, and then it’s back to our hut around 9.00pm for the usual on the bed.

I feel alright, with the cold that’s been hanging around for the last few days, essentially being a thing of the past.

Well, I do, until I have a rather strong urge to use the toilet.

An hour later, the same urge returns.

Fortunately, I still have some of those 5000 Dong Imodium tablets, so one is taken to try and avoid a third bout.

But I’m annoyed, as well as a little worried.  Down to less than a week to go, I really don’t want this thing to become my main focus.

A little more Trip Advisoring, along with a few notes, and then with no more toilet desires forthcoming, and now the wrong side of 11.30pm, sleep becomes the thing.

And hopefully, it’s an uninterrupted one.

Cheers,

Scott