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Published: August 9th 2016
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After more than 2 weeks in Hanoi, albeit with excursions to Sapa and Halong Bay, I was getting decidedly twitchy, it was time to be on the road again. Everything was timed to perfection, we had said goodbye the night before to the lovely girls that looked after us so well in Le Petit Hotel Hanoi, we had a leisurely breakfast and the taxi was there right on the dot of 7.30 to take us to the airport. I'm always a little suspicious when everything runs so smoothly and today would prove that my instincts are good. I checked in without a problem, Hanoi airport is probably one of the more efficient airports on the planet. Lis wasn't due to check in for another hour so we waited a while then I made my way through the gates to immigration and passport control etc. As I was entering I heard my name called asking me to go to my gate which, given the flight was still an hour away I thought a little odd. Then as I presented my passport a red flag came up on the screen and a radio call was made. A nice man appeared who escorted me
through security and immigration, rushing me through the diplomatic channel. I've never cleared security faster in my life. When we got to the gate I was advised that they hadn't checked my luggage properly and needed to recheck it so would bring it to the gate. After a short wait my backpack arrived, all still neatly wrapped in the gladwrap I had put on at the wrapping station in an effort to avoid having the straps ripped off by baggage handling staff, and escorted by a nice man in a uniform. The nice man explained rather too loudly that there appeared to be something like a grenade in my luggage. I agreed that there was something like a grenade in my luggage at which point nearly everyone at the gate area cleared off. I asked for scissors and had to hack a good part of the wrapping off to open my pack and duly presented the nice man with a lighter, looking very like a grenade. I demonstrated it's use and he was very apologetic but said he would have to confiscate it then offered me a roll of sellotape to try and repair the damage to the wrapping. So
Alexander if you are reading this, sorry mate, but this is one useless bit of clutter that you won't be adding to the collection I bring back from far flung places.
The flight to Vientiane was uneventful, at only 1 hour it almost bordered on pleasant. Watched a very large guy try to jump the queue for a visa only to be roundly abused by an English chap in very colourful language. After a quick discussion the security guards led the queue jumper away, apparently it is almost a national pastime, but it embarrasses the officials as they think it gives the country a bad name, so they try their best to stamp it out. Retrieved my backpack, still in one piece, changed some US dollars, picked up a Lao sim card and got a taxi to the hotel. With a population of only around 250,000 Vientiane is positively pedestrian after the hurley burley madness of Hanoi, you don't take your life in your hands crossing the street at least.
Had a quick lunch at the hotel and hit the streets in 35c heat had a butchers at the Presidential Palace, Wat Sisakek and Putaxai, the victory monument
themed on L'arc de triomphe. Bumped into Rafa, one of the guys we met on the Halong Bay cruise and we promised to catch up for a beer Lao lqater.
Did a bit of shopping, paid the princely sum of $4 for toothpaste and deodorant, both absolute necessities, I suspect it is only the need to shower a couple of times a day and wash my clothes occasionally that prevents me from doffing the lot and wandering about like some mad Saddhu. Well maybe that and the size of the ants around here, you wouldn't want one of those latching on to your frank and beans while you were rolling about in the dirt. Hmmm, either the sun is getting to me or I've been in Asia a bit long, might be going troppo.
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