Traveling to Hanoi. - Sunday, May 18, 2008.
Yesterday morning, because I needed to catch the bus from Phu Cat airport to fly to Hanoi at six in the morning Phuoc kindly volunteered to come and pick me up on his motorbike. With my big suitcase precariously balanced between his legs and my laptop and day bag slung over my back we made it to the bus stop Vietnamese style. This was my first experience on a Vietnamese bus – I was grateful that I was not sitting in a front seat with a good view. The buses are often the fastest vehicle on the road. This bus was not as mad as some that I have seen. Often continuous blasts on the horn and a conductor hanging right out the open door, holding on with one hand while waving the other arm enthusiastically, aid a wild ride through narrow roads and weaving traffic.
I had a three hour stopover in Da Nang. I was in two minds about what to do with the time. Feeling a bit apprehensive about managing on my own I thought that I might just stay at the airport but I decided not to be chicken and to make my way into Da Nang for a look around. The airport is only a couple of k from town. How come I get ripped off by taxi drivers in every city in the world I visit? The Lonely Planet suggests that 20,000VND is appropriate for the trip but when I got out there was only one taxi. Using my excellent negotiating skills (joke!) I managed to pay way way over the odds to a man who waited while I looked around. When we got back to the airport he insisted that I also pay an airport entry fee. I protested that this was not what we had negotiated but he moved a carefully placed ornament to reveal a sign stating this – I tried to argue with him but it started to get nasty so I decided to part with the cash and keep my bags! (I am feeling particularly bitter about taxi drivers at the moment because I have been ripped off by two motorbike taxi drivers today – more later)
Da Nang quite honestly was not worth the effort. The part that I saw was grim and grungy. I did have a fun conversation with a motorbike taxi driver who, once he realized that I really was not going to give him any business no matter how hard he tried, enjoyed chatting about his family and life in Vietnam.
I arrived in Hanoi uneventfully, had a small crisis of confidence as the plane landed, but arrived at my hotel without any of the common scams. The hotel is definitely a marker of the “you get what you pay for” maxim. I am not paying much ($18 US/night – cheap by current Hanoi standards) and I am not getting much. It is battered but central and cleanish so it will do.
I am in the old quarter near Hoan Kiem Lake. I do like these parts of cities. Narrow streets and lanes with jumbled together shops and markets. Half an hour after arriving I was out wandering around finding my bearings. The lake is quite small, and if you don’t look too closely at the filthy water, quite charming. It is a soft mossy green color. Walking along the encompassing path under colorful flame trees interspersed with others with flowers like jacarandas was a pleasure. An attractive but crowded red bridge led to a small temple built in honor of a scholar. Amongst the jostling tourists there were people who genuinely appeared to be trying to worship. I remain unsure of the appropriateness of visiting active places of worship as a tourist.
Yesterday morning, because I needed to catch the bus from Phu Cat airport to fly to Hanoi at six in the morning Phuoc kindly volunteered to come and pick me up on his motorbike. With my big suitcase precariously balanced between his legs and my laptop and day bag slung over my back we made it to the bus stop Vietnamese style. This was my first experience on a Vietnamese bus – I was grateful that I was not sitting in a front seat with a good view. The buses are often the fastest vehicle on the road. This bus was not as mad as some that I have seen. Often continuous blasts on the horn and a conductor hanging right out the open door, holding on with one hand while waving the other arm enthusiastically, aid a wild ride through narrow roads and weaving traffic.
I had a three hour stopover in Da Nang. I was in two minds about what to do with the time. Feeling a bit apprehensive about managing on my own I thought that I might just stay at the airport but I decided not to be chicken and to make my way into Da Nang for a look around. The airport is only a couple of k from town. How come I get ripped off by taxi drivers in every city in the world I visit? The Lonely Planet suggests that 20,000VND is appropriate for the trip but when I got out there was only one taxi. Using my excellent negotiating skills (joke!) I managed to pay way way over the odds to a man who waited while I looked around. When we got back to the airport he insisted that I also pay an airport entry fee. I protested that this was not what we had negotiated but he moved a carefully placed ornament to reveal a sign stating this – I tried to argue with him but it started to get nasty so I decided to part with the cash and keep my bags! (I am feeling particularly bitter about taxi drivers at the moment because I have been ripped off by two motorbike taxi drivers today – more later)
Da Nang quite honestly was not worth the effort. The part that I saw was grim and grungy. I did have a fun conversation with a motorbike taxi driver who, once he realized that I really was not going to give him any business no matter how hard he tried, enjoyed chatting about his family and life in Vietnam.
I arrived in Hanoi uneventfully, had a small crisis of confidence as the plane landed, but arrived at my hotel without any of the common scams. The hotel is definitely a marker of the “you get what you pay for” maxim. I am not paying much ($18 US/night – cheap by current Hanoi standards) and I am not getting much. It is battered but central and cleanish so it will do.
I am in the old quarter near Hoan Kiem Lake. I do like these parts of cities. Narrow streets and lanes with jumbled together shops and markets. Half an hour after arriving I was out wandering around finding my bearings. The lake is quite small, and if you don’t look too closely at the filthy water, quite charming. It is a soft mossy green color. Walking along the encompassing path under colorful flame trees interspersed with others with flowers like jacarandas was a pleasure. An attractive but crowded red bridge led to a small temple built in honor of a scholar. Amongst the jostling tourists there were people who genuinely appeared to be trying to worship. I remain unsure of the appropriateness of visiting active places of worship as a tourist.
I sat and chatted for awhile with a young woman from the Halong Bay area who is studying at university. It was a very interesting conversation that gave me more insight into the changing lives of people here.
When it was dark I made my way back through a myriad of tourist trap stalls, persistent pestering cyclo drivers and hawkers of trash, to have an early night. I have been quite sheltered in Quy Nhon. It is a comparatively small city and the other VSA volunteers and staff are there. Here in Hanoi I am facing the reality of traveling on my own for the first time. Mostly it is fine but occasionally it is a bit overwhelming. Undoubtedly my confidence is growing as I manage each step fairly successfully.
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