Arriving in Hanoi

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Monday 26 May 2014.

It’s day two of our latest trip around South East Asia, and
we’ve just landed in Hanoi. Hanoi’s current weather – a combination of high
temperatures, high humidity and rain storms, ensures our flight somewhat bumpy. Some might prefer the term terrifying. Turbulence is a major factor
as we fly over the north of the country, and poor visibility, thunder and lightning,
ensured the trip was a test for even the most frequent of flyers.

It’s been three and a half years since we were last in Hanoi,
and on first impressions, it appears not much has changed. The traffic is chaotic
and the temperatures are through the roof.

Upon arrival at the Tu Linh Legend hotel, we are warmly welcomed
by the staff, who immediately upgrade one of the three rooms we have booked,
and insist on feeding us a considerable amount of watermelon.

It’s great to meet up with Jimmy, a friend from home, whose
been living in Vietnam for the past year, and after a quick catch up, we head
out to a restaurant for a street-food inspired meal. The food is excellent - Jimmy’s local knowledge helping us choose a fantastic selection of dishes.

After dinner, we made our way to the heart of the old town for
a few drinks. Jimmy takes us to what looks like a doorway to someone’s back
yard. Heading through it and down a darkened alleyway, we find ourselves in what
appears to be a combined garage-kitchen. As with many things in Hanoi, all is
not what it seems however, and we are escorted up a series of stairs to a
rooftop bar around five floors up, overlooking Hoan Kiem lake.

We were delighted to be in the possession of some ice cold
beers; a little less delighted that the bottle opener for these beers was five
floors below us!

From here, we head over to something of a dive bar up the
road, where we enjoy a couple more beers, before the place is closed down by the
police. This reminds us that Hanoi is not a 24-hour city, and places generally close
at midnight.

As most bars were now closed, we decided to head back to the
hotel to continue catching up (drinking), which was only slightly hindered by having to
wake the night porter to fetch us more beer.

It’s good to be back, and great to catch up with an old friend.

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