Fascinating and Historic Hanoi, Vietnam
The first few days were spent in Bangkok (read the detailed articles) before leaving the Best Western Swana at 5:30 a.m. and headed back to Suvarnabhumi Airport for a brief one-hour Thai Airlines flight to Hanoi. Adventure Center told us that Peregrine Adventures would meet, greet and transfer any tour members to the hotel if we arrived on this day. Good as their word, a representative was waiting outside baggage claim holding a card with our name on it. It's less than a hour (depending on traffic) from beautiful Noi Bai International Airport located 45km/28 miles from downtown Hanoi.
If you are on your own, transportation choices in Hanoi are: taxis, minibus or public buses. The Hoa Binh Hotel*** was built in 1926 and located in the old French Quarter on Ly Thuong Kiet Street, a short three-block walk to West Lake (Hoan Kiem Lake). With pleasant employees, and old but completely adequate, clean rooms, we dropped the bags and went out to revisit Hanoi. TIP: Always grab your hotel business card to find the way back and/or be able to tell the cheap taxis where you are staying. Especially, when in a jet-lagged fog.
Hanoi is incredibly noisy and chaotic with motor scooters and cycles by the thousands weaving in and out of the considerable auto traffic. Lesson one - not everybody is going to stop when the light is red or speeding around corners. Keep eyes peeled, look oncoming people directly in the eye and cross. Amazing that we saw not one fender-bender, road kill or injured people in the streets during the entire trip.
Around West Lake and into the old quarter with small, congested streets, each with a specialty. Luggage, backpacks, shoes, silk, clothes, another street selling Family Ancestor Worship items (they burn fake money for ancestors to use...View image...
Back to Hoa Binh Hotel for a pre-trip briefing. Waiting in the crowded lobby where a Vietnamese wedding was taking place, John (our Vietnamese Peregrine leader) easily picked out the only Westerners sitting in the lobby. A big shock...there were only four of us. Jenny from Brisbane, Myriam from Melbourne, ex-Marine and myself. Thought runs quickly through my mind that this is not going to be an easy trip with only four persons. We don't travel with best friends let alone only two total strangers for 14 days. Hmm... We'll see.
Down the block to a coffee shop since you couldn't hear yourself think in the lobby and settled details. A tip kitty of $16 U.S. per person, show mandatory proof of insurance details shown to John and timing for the leave to Mai Chau tomorrow. Jenny and Myriam went to dinner while ex-Marine and I dropped into bed. The lucky Aussies only crossed three time zones while we crossed 12! Big difference....
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