We left Melbourne dressed in shirts, jacket and jeans on a coolish morning to visit Vietnam as a couple rather than a foursome as originally planned. Never mind, there will be other trips with our friends in the future. On this trip, I have the pleasure of introducing Bob to Vietbam, rather than having 3 "victims" to introduce.
Vietnam Airlines has pretty basic and uncomfortable seats, sloping slightly forwards, but we were lucky enough to be in Row 33 on a flight which was not totally full, so Bob could spread out over 2 seats, and I managed to nab 3 seats.
I was so glad I brought my embroidery with me at the last minute. An 8 hour flight to Ho Chi Minh city and a 2 hour transit can't be easily borne without a diversion. I even managed to watch a film and finish a novel as well! Natrually, I also managed to divest myself of several layers of clothing in HCM city, though the humidity wasn't as bad as a previous visit in April. Bob appeared undaunted by the humidity, retaining his attire of t-shirt, shirt and padded jacket until he got to the hotel after another 2 hours of flying.
In Hanoi, we were impressed that no-one could leave the luggage are without identifying their luggage with a matching ticket. Probably a good thing. People seem to bring in so many huge heavy boxes as well as regular luggage that it would be very tempting for a thief.
Unfortunately, we were not, as expected, picked up by our hotel. On the good side, the airport information centre rang up the hotel for us and arranged for a bus, lickety split.
Watching the horrid fascination and awe on Bob's face as the driver calmy coped with no marked lanes, disappearing lanes, traffic approaching in the wrong lane, a dog crossing the multi-lane road, intersections without lights, zigzagging mototrbikes, pedestrians, etc,etc was excrutiatingly funny. He was bewildered by my fatalistic attitude since I am such a back seat driver at home.
Hotel Tirant (great name) is in a grotty street, and is in a state of refurbishment, but it is a real vision of gilt, glitter and glitz ( if you ignore the constant stream of men carrying concrete and bricks in and out the side restaurant). The decor is so, so much like me! We were given the key to our room and fell about laughing because it was being renovated: tarpaulins, rubble, spare wood and panelling every where. Unfortunately, we didn't have the presence of mind to photograph it. Version 2 was Lilliputian and had a cracked sink but we were too tired to care.
When we asked for an upgrade the next day, we got the best version, for the same price. Well done, Hotel Tirant!
Soooo jealous. Just reading about it, takes me back there.
ReplyDeleteDo you have a photo of Bob's face or were you laughing too much? I do remember how terrifying the traffic was to begin with but you just set your brain to Vietnam style and enjoy it. The upgraded room is super plush, pity the street is a bit grotty but it all adds to the atmosphere . I can fell the sights, smells and sounds. Keep blogging for me :)
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