Sixteen hours in a plane is asking a lot; two movies, three documentaries, fitful hours of sleep next to a big ape encroaching into my space, three meals, snacks, music, reading, walking the isles, hang out in the back, stretching, and on and on. Such is the life of a long haul economy passenger. Stacking us horizontally might have been more humane. Landed at Guangzhou, China, suffered through two more security points and kept on my toes to follow their rules. Security everywhere with TV screens showing cartoon clips of terrorist situations. Nice modern airport but I did not get that warm fuzzy feeling. Burger King was front and present so I indulged myself with a somewhat healthy meal. Is that a contradiction in terms? My first and only encounter with the Chinese Yuan. After a four hour layover and a shave in the bathroom, I boarded for Hanoi onto a much smaller jet, four seats across. Flying over the red tile rooftops along our final descent into Hanoi , I could see a third world country awaited me. Landing at the Havana airport still takes the prize.
After shedding my turtleneck and longjohns, I waded into the mass of humanity in the central terminal. My bags made it and my visa and passport withstood the scrutinizing eye of the immigration official. Thanks to Dan Potter I had a running head start on what to expect. Lyft, Uber, and Grab were useless so I found a taxi van which charged me the anticipated rate into town, 550,000 Dong or $22. Dan FaceTimed me on the drive into Hanoi proper and later greeted me outside his funky micro hotel. Getting there required weaving through a maze of inner city narrow streets . He was outside at a curbside table where he sat me down for some local tea. The adventure was just beginning, finally out of my comfort zone, BRING IT ON! Motorbikes everywhere, people hawking there wares, this place is alive. On Dan’s insistence, I change into riding cloths and off we bicycled into the insane traffic to buy a burner phone.. He road slowly, and as if magic, wove his way through hordes of screaming motor bikes, truly an insane experience. Finally with the new phone in left pocket, we continued on to one of his favorite hole in the wall cafes which was totally charming. A local cold beer eased me into my new environment. Next came the local market to pick up some breakfast basics. Communication being one of my stumbling blocks, Dan got me going on the basics e.g.,thanks:Cam on; bathroom:WC or toilet in French. So much to learn and nothing like total immersion right out of the blocks, jet lag aside? Finally a rest in my third floor room and bath, (two rooms per floor, six floors). I lost consciousness for a good two hours and with a Herculean effort got myself vertical for an evening out having dinner at a local neighborhood restaurant. At Dan’s insistence, I tried several dishes, chopsticks included. He knows everything and everyone and threw me headfirst into it. At 22:00 hours, I was crispy around the edges and crumbled into bed. Now to assembly my bike and ease into the Hanoi scene. What a day!
Good morning Vietnam.
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