We waste some time in the morning before we have to head to the airport. Jess, who is heading back to New Zealand, and I are supposed to go together, but she’s not back from the internet cafe, so we (Sharon is tagging along just to say goodbye) wait a little longer.
Finally on our way, we manage to find Catherine (who is also heading home) immediately. jess and I check-in, then get a security guard to take a group photo. He struggles with the concept of holding down the button till it clicks, so we recruit a tourist to take it. He struggles as well, but manages in the end. My flight is the first to depart, so I hug everyone goodbye, and head to the departure gate. I’ll see Catherine in Canada, and Sharon in Canada too, unless I see her in Vietnam first. Jess assures me she’ll visit (because I owe her a dollar).
The flight makes a stopover in Luang Prabang before continuing on to Hanoi. I take some pictures from the plane, but they don’t really turn out.
I grab a cab from the airport into Hanoi. There’s a recommended hotel, but I have to wait to see the room. I chat with a girl from Sydney who is on her honeymoon (no husband in sight though) for a bit, then check out the room. Overpriced, and it looks like it’s normally used by the staff, so I pass. I walk aimlessly in search of another place – finding a dorm room for $4 a night, but I’m a little wary. I run into a British couple I had met on the slowboat to Luang Prabang, and find out where they’re staying. I head in that direction, when a woman runs up to me and asks me to check out her hotel. I do, and it turns out to be just fine. Oh, and there’s free internet, which is a nice bonus.
Thrilled with the high speed internet, I try and upload my photos, but my $1 card reader seems to have kicked the bucket. Hanoi is loud, and busy, but I take to it immediately. I go in search of some earplugs, to help block out the street noise overnight, but I have no luck. I grab some dinner, then head to the hotel.The satellite tv doesn’t have much of interest, so I read for a bit and sleep.