Last full day in Ha Noi (hurray!)

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I made it back to Ha Noi bright and early today, with the train arriving around 4:15. Outside I met up with two girls that I met in Sapa; we had agreed to work together since we didn’t know what the taxi and motorbike situation would be like that early. I had confidence in the market economy. My confidence was well placed. There was more supply than demand.

We procured a cab and headed off to my hostel. One of the girls said she couldn’t get in hers yet and the other only had the name of the hotel - The Little Hanoi Hotel (she lost the address). There are probably about 50 Little Hanoi Hotels so that was no help. They both ended up coming back to my hostel where the one looked up her location on the computers and the other just sat there. The former found her hotel and the latter wanted to hang out in the lobby until 6:00. I told her I’m going to be bed I’m sure the worker who was sleeping on a row of seats in the lobby wanted to do the same. They went on their way.

With the amount of time between my wakeup and getting to my hostel bed, trying to sleep proved fruitless. Since I couldn’t sleep I decided to start off my work for the day - getting a flight for Brian and Robin’s wedding in Puerto Rico and getting a handle on the Everest flights.

In the afternoon I got my Puerto Rico flights wrapped up. The cost has been outrageous so I looked into using my US Air dividend miles. I found that I could go first class using less miles than I would have on coach. That went well.

I also looked at a bunch of flights to get to Nepal. It appears that there is no way in arriving the next day. I will have to leave in the evening of one day, arrive about 24 hours later (local time) in Delhi and then leave the next morning for Nepal. It doesn’t seem like there’s anyway around this. So I’ll spend one night on a plane, a second in an airport and then two in a hotel in Kathmandu before starting hours of trekking a day for two weeks. Fortunately Dave and I built in that extra night because one night to catch up properly just wouldn’t work.

Dave and I were both on Skype at the same time so we were able to go over all this and even chat about some business ideas. Neither one of us has a whole lot of desire to hold a normal job - we’ll need to find something that can liberate us from the drudgery of Corporate America. It’s not looking good for him since he’s continuing to evaluate working for The Man.

The only times I came up for air from what proved to be a monumental task were to grab breakfast downstairs and to go out for a late lunch of Pho Bo (rice noodle soup with beef) and a Tiger beer. On my way there I was approached by a lady carrying a fruit basket like the one I wore in Mekong. Here the women all insist that you try it on and then ask for money to take a picture of you. I have repeatedly avoided this but they were out in full force today. Between them, the motorbikes and the merchants, it became a game for me - how long can I go without being bothered by either? I think I made it a whole minute one time.

I also finally remembered to get a picture of a particular phenomenon that appears unique to Vietnam. I had previously mentioned the small chairs at sidewalk restaurants in Hue. They have those all over here, too. But when such chairs are deficient they resort to squatting down lower than a baseball catcher, to the point where their rears are almost touching the ground. I refer to this as the Vietnamese squat. My knees could never take it. It seems like all their knees can because they all do it.

In the evening I heard from Barbara - the girl I met in Hue - who has been in Ha Noi since I have. She and I met up this evening for a drink where we caught up. I filled her in on Ha Long Bay, Sapa and my distaste for Ha Noi. She felt somewhat the same about Ha Noi, but more so about Vietnam as a whole. She loves Cambodia.

Barbara has been volunteering with kids for the past few days. It doesn’t seem like it’s too strenuous because the woman in charge has many more people than she needs; she gets paid from the government by headcount so more people equals more money. She’s apparently staying in a place that makes mine look like the Four Seasons.

We walked around the lake before she had to take off to meet some friends for a movie. We might try to meet up if I spend a couple weeks in India after the Everest trip.

I headed off to bed shortly after she left. Tomorrow I leave for Hong Kong.

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Photos

Vietnamese squat
Textbook form.

Ha Noi buildings
The buildings here are all old and dilapidated. Whatever French charm they once had is gone.

Streets
Since the motorbike parking takes up the bulk of the sidewalks and people squatting while preparing food or talking take up the rest, pedestrians are forced to walk in the street with the wreckless motorbikes, taxis and rickshaws.