HGK to HAN ( Back in the SROV)

SROV of course stands for the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.   

And it really feels good to be back. So good indeed, I can't help but to include the famous BEATLES SONG ;-)

I am sooo impatient.  This flight can’t be over soon enough.  I can’t wait to get to Hanoi’s French quarter and to my hotel.  Part of it is the feel of the city, but I also look forward to the surprise on the faces of a few people I have grown fond of the last time I was here.  But most importantly, I think it is time again to experience something entirely new.

impatient !

The last two days in Hong Kong, only minor details were new experiences.  I would have loved to find out how the blue lotus flower would have continued to develop.  Lighting incense in a monastery was a deeply felt experience. But apart from those few sparks it was just routine and predictable. 

Vietnam should bring some change to that. 

When I'm almost through immigration and customs, I realize that the battery on my electronic cigarette has died.   Charging attempts are futile, so I will have to find a new one before the long flight back to Vancouver.

Once my passport is stamped and I have sailed through customs, I actually ask a taxi driver how much the trip to Hanoi's French Quarter would be and how long it would take.  US$ 20 for 40 minutes drive is the answer.  In any other country in the world that would be a good deal but I know that I can walk over to the domestic terminal building, from where the local bus would take me to Old Hanoi in 1 hour 40  minutes and it would cost me only 50 cents. 

I thank the taxi driver for his offer and head over to the bus stop at the domestic terminal.

20 minutes later the local bus # 17 navigates the tight and pot-holed local roads and that big grin appears on my face again once in the by now pitch-dark country side banana plants line the roads in the narrow beam of light of the headlights.  I follow the progress of the bus using my  phone's GPS, my impatience increasing steadily..

The moment the bus stops in Hanoi's bus terminal, I almost jump out of the bus to join the hustle and bustle of Hanoi's crazy streets.

could he load any more stuff on that bicycle?

The surprise on the faces of the two bell boys when I arrive in the hotel is almost worth coming here for ;-) I quickly reassure them that I will smoke on the balcony  at my early jet-lagged hours, so that they sleep undisturbed in the reception.

I get to my room and stare:  There was no decoration on my bed last time.  

Hanoi Cathedral en route on my evening shopping trip