Up at 6:00am for an Uber at 8:00am and
a flight at 11:30am, followed by another 10 and a half hours travel
and four hours lay-over and we arrive at our Hanoi hotel 19 hours
after we left home.
Sounds simple, and it is, if things all
go well. They did, mostly.
I'd spent the day before our flight
wandering around the house convinced I'd forgotten something. I went
through the suitcase again hoping it would present itself (or
not, as it would be missing of course), but came up with nothing. All
the usual stuff was in place, including the weird stuff like the
various cables I'd need to connect to the electronic gadgets we
burden ourselves with. But nothing popped up.
After a mildly sleepless night we
finished the packing and waited for the Uber to take us to the
airport. (Roll on the airport train connections I say.) Fifteen
minutes after the scheduled pickup time we were underway. Or more
precisely, on the road. The area around our house is surrounded by private schools and as it was a school day, the roads were clogged with parents on a school drop-off run. The driver told us we would take a bit of time to
get through the Burnley tunnel and then things would clear up. He was
right but it still took us over an hour to get to the airport.
That was followed by one of the slowest
check-ins we'd ever had – another hour – and then by one of our
fastest passport checks, though I did get pulled aside and eyeballed
by one of the Border Force staff. Must be something to do with a
gradual change of hair colour or not so gradual loss of said hair
that throws the automatic camera-based identification process.
Anyway, we made the departure lounge
just as the plane was starting to board. So much for giving myself
plenty of leeway.
And then things got really
straight-forward. We left the departure gate five minutes early, the
other passenger in our row moved to be near a friend which freed up
the middle seat, and the flight was smooth and on time. On the other hand, neither of us
slept much.
Changeover in Saigon was easy, although
a tedious four hours. Robyn had booked us into one of the available
business lounges for a small fee so the time was passed drinking red wine
from McLaren Vale (reasonable but not great), nibbling on spring
rolls and fruit, and watching stupid American gun shows on the television.
Hanoi airport was attained on schedule
and the pre-arranged pickup was there waiting for us.
Our Hanoi hotel is located in the Hanoi
Old Quarter, and I have to tell you that at first glance at 11:00pm
Hanoi-time, half-alseep and more than a little grumpy, the place
didn't look all that flash from the outside. But the desk staff were
efficient, and the room was large and welcoming. About fifteen
minutes after entering the room I was out.
At about 2 in the morning I woke up and
remembered what I'd forgotten the day before. I went back to sleep
hoping I'd remember it again the next day.
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| Hat, daypack and flowers |
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| Bathroom |
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