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An alarm call at 6.30am to attack the Reunification Palace before my flight to Hanoi, but by the time I'd hit snooze a few times and had breakfast I figured I may as well wait until eight to collect my washing. He wouldn't give it to me a minute before eight though, even if it was sitting behind his desk packed and ready.
I decided to walk to the palace, but after looking lost at the huge roundabout a cyclo driver said he'd take me for 150,000VND, to which I agreed until we were riding along and I realised I'd only paid 50,000VND for a longer trip on Sunday.I said this to him and got out of the cyclo, cutting my finger in the process, after which he said 'okay, okay' to 50,000VND after much debating and explaining from me - pretty useless as he couldn't understand me. He'd shown me a book of all the people he'd given rides to and their testimonials, including one from a happy English rider, but he dropped me off round the corner from the palace and only appeared with 400,000VND in change for my large note: he failed to ask me to sign his book. I couldn't be bothered chasing after him as it was raining and the blood on my finger was beginning to drip, so I just put it down to experience. Another bad experience.
The palace was okay, it would have been better with a guide, but I wandered around listening to the Chinese tour guide speak Mandarin and trying to guess information from where the cameras pointed. It didn't turn out that successful. It was so muggy in there; I was dripping with sweat for yet another instance on this trip - hence longing for the cold of England. I stayed looking around the eerie palace and its basement rooms for an hour or so before getting a metered taxi back to the hostel, which only cost 19,000VND! Talk about adding insult to injury.
I'd organised a ride to the airport with STA, and so got in the back of a strange little car and travelled the thirty minute ride in relative peace as the motorbikes, scooters, and cars skimmed past the car with complete disregard for every road users' safety. I must be getting used to this crazy Southeast Asian malarkey.
I arrived at the airport at 11.30am, watched the rain with a glorious Snickers bar and fell asleep to pass the time. The queue to board was just another example of Southeast Asians pushing me around, so I thought 'when in Rome' and became Gulliver in the tale as I bounded through the queue just as they did; having another foot on them has got to have some perks. I sat next to another example of the incredible coughing man, and wondered why I hadn't cottoned on to the trend of wearing a surgical mask on planes. To top off my day there was a kicking child sitting behind me, and after a quick snooze at take-off I endured the sights and sounds of the locals eating their dinner. Every onomatopoeia in the dictionary came into play as they slurped, sucked, and sipped their way through dinner before delighting me with their dessert in the form of anything they could find with a toothpick!
We arrived at 3pm, when I found out that 'ladies first' means absolutely nothing as I stooped over the aisle whilst a man just left his suitcase in my way to stop me possibly getting in front of him, God forbid. After being coughed on and waiting at the luggage carousel with people who touched me and my things far too frequently I collected my bag and ripped off the luggage tag, only to have my bag checked to ensure it matched my boarding pass for the first time EVER. Great. The steward just rolled her eyes and waved me through to an empty arrivals hall, or at least it was empty in terms of my lift.I went to the tourism desk and they rang the hotel, apparently the bloke had waited and was wandering around elsewhere looking for me. A little man with a big placard arrived ten minutes later with my name spelt incorrectly, but I was just happy to have a lift.
The ride was pretty grey, in terms of the weather and the buildings; the sign declaring 'Welcome to Hanoi' was above a cemetery. I worried about the location of the hotel as I discovered playing spot the westerner in Hanoi was turning out to be a lot harder than playing spot the prostitute in Sihanoukville's Utopia. Finally making it into town, I spotted two blonde women wearing just t-shirts and shorts and knew I was in the tourist area.Apparently the driver wasn't too sure where the hotel was, as we drove around for another half an hour searching for the place.
As soon as I walked into the hotel they were offering me tours, trying to butter me up with tea, and make sure I bought from them, but after taking the tea I dumped my stuff in the room and made my way out into town. For some reason, I didn't put on a jumper even though I'd seen everybody in their winter coats, and felt the cold after an hour or so of walking around. I went to the Kangaroo Cafe as it had been recommended by two people, but their prices were a little too high for me, so I ended up at the Sinh Cafe next door, where I bought a tour to Halong Bay and Sapa for $120. I may live to regret it, but after withdrawing 3,000,000VND I didn't feel like going back for more. Booking the tours also meant I had to cancel my hotel for Wednesday night and that I would be destitute on Sunday morning when the train arrived in Hanoi at 5am. Good times.
I stopped off at a roadside bakery on the way back, buying the most delicious chocolate croissant as I tried to find the Vietnamese baguette Doug raves about. Opposite the hotel was a little cafe, and I couldn't resist going in for a hot chocolate before bed. Bliss. To top it off they were playing Christmas songs too.
I cancelled my hotel and explained I'd booked elsewhere when I got back to the hotel, and was swiftly presented with a bill for the cancellation and the taxi from the airport - no tea was offered this time.
- comments
Mum and Dad Hi, we can just imagine being there with you and going through all the pitfalls that you are experiencing. With regards to the weather here, it looks as though we can guarantee it but hope that you will be able to land at Heathrow. See you somewhere. Take care