I SUCCUMB

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It’s Wednesday, 12/16/2016 4:10 a.m. . . . know I should be sleeping, but sleeping and trying to sleep are two completely different animals. The words swirling and the phrases forming in my head finally force me from the pristine, soft, white sheets and cozy pillow to pen my thoughts of the last 30 (or is it 45 hours) of travel. Departure at LAX, uneventful; Business Class is as promised, “a lie flat bed” (ever sleep on a fold out couch?) individual seating (access to toilets does not require inconveniencing another traveler) and an attentive cabin crew.

The stewardesses (I count six to our cabin) and very handsome steward all are about 25, clear complexed, perfectly groomed and eager to serve. The young man had the most handsome dimples, (think Mario Lopez from EXTRA). I reflect that I have rarely seen an Asian with such defined dimples and suspect his grandfather (or great–grandfather) may have been GI Joe. They feed us at 1:00 a.m. (supper) and the food is more than adequate and a way to whittle away “some” time on the long air journey. It’s pitch black outside and I suspect it to remain so for many hours. Turns out flying west and leaving at midnight from LAX you have about 13 hours of dark fly time.

Settle in for some sleep and log about 4.5 hours before my hips are screaming, turns out lying flat is not the only necessity for sleep comfort. I think, “Oh good, 35% air flight down!” Try sleep again, this time with “merely” RECLINING position. Book another 1.5 hours. So now my “body clock” is up and I decide to watch a movie, “Trainwreck”, (raunchy) but Amy Schuler is so darn cute. Everyone else in our cabin is “out”, EXCEPT the woman in the seat in front of me and she needs assistance from the crew on a regular basis, also like to read with the overhead light. Movie # 2, “Learning to Drive”, now that one I really like, has a real message and is sweet romantic comedy. Try sleep again, rotate the swelling ankles, do the foot push up thingy and drink more, 1Above, jet lag remedy (mixed with 16 ounces water). Oh, I’m reminded that drinking almost 2 gallons of liquid (water) in the past 24 hours might be why I’m seeking the john every 40 minutes. Movie #3 “Ricki and the Flash”.

I have only about 4 hours left of fly time. Now the time is moving like molasses, tick, tick, tick. Resolve myself to no more sleep for now. Commit to “Me, Earl and the Dying Girl”, this is a marathon movie event for me. Great flick.

Breakfast, “oh good other humans around me are up and moving, food before landing”. Everyone looks ruffled and like they slept on a hideaway. I realize, as we are about to deplane in Hong Kong, that we are 45 minutes late in arriving.

I had just a one-hour layover, and a young woman from ground crew waiting just at the top of the ramp informs me that they have booked me another flight to Hanoi, leaving at 17:30, in just 10 hours’ time. I am granted a hotel voucher but can’t check in until 11:00. Seek out the Business Class Lounge and quickly request the front desk attendants to assist me in a call to my Hanoi guide to postpone his arrival to pick-up me up. They are very helpful and I realize this is where the “seasoned” stewardesses come to book their last years of duty. All still beautifully groomed but not of the age to fly long haul anymore.

When I enter the lounge I find a large comfortable playpen style sofa with lots of pillows and settle in. I contemplate going into Hong Kong, after all I have about 9 hours, but after research decide the approximate 1-hour train ride each way, more security checks and no plans of where to go to “stay put”.

I also decide that going to the vouchered hotel might be more trouble than it’s worth. The Lounge has great dim sum and “free drinks”. I avoid the drinks, knowing the swelling ankles and the possible regret of lost energy tomorrow), outweighs the “free” amenity. Catch up on some e-mail and text my safe arrival to family at home. I meet two very interesting travelers and while away the time sharing travel and life stories. I am reminded that travel is not just about the destination (but boy I sure would like to get there SOON) but the journey and the observation of life.

Well, I check flight display board and discover my 17:30 flight is estimated to leave at 18:15. Sigh, and sigh again. I gather myself and head to the gate about 17:20, knowing the 20-minute walk to the gate will be good exercise. I stroll, taking it all in. Hong Kong airport has more shops that Heathrow!! And luxury shops, of course. Security is evident by the policeman who is meandering along with his assault rifle at the ready. Arriving at the gate, the flight is delayed yet again, and I realize that the 3rd largest airport in the world is going to transport us to the plane on a bus. By the time we takeoff it’s 19:05, with just another 1 hour and 45 minutes’ air time. I’m getting a little irritated by this time. The time now is no longer as slow as molasses but moves about as fast as the honey that’s been in the jar back home for over a year.

I arrive Hanoi!!!! Purchase my Visa for $25 and with little incident or delay. Immigration . . . you know the slow line at the grocery store, the one with the newly hired clerk? That’s my line, but I manage to hold up and even smile as I am welcomed to Vietnam!!! My guide, Quyen, is waiting for me and takes my luggage and escorts me quickly to the curb where our driver is waiting. The travel time to the hotel is about 45 minutes, it is dark and there is little to see on the outskirts of town. As we are approaching the city of 9 million people we cross the new bridge, Nhat Tan, opened in just January 2015. It appears to be overly lit and when I ask Quyen about it he says it’s because “they go fast and need to see better”. Well, I can tell you driving here is CRAZY. Rule # 1 the little vehicle yields to the larger one. Rule #2 Lane markings are just a “suggestion”, #3 – Stopping at street lights is only necessary when police are present. Thousands of motorbikes, going every direction through intersections will, I’m sure, present even a “walking hazard”. Shops are open, people are sitting on the street enjoying themselves with snacks and libation. Hanoi is full of French colonial buildings, pagodas, street food, and lots of promise.

My accommodations at the Silk Path Hotel are modern, clean, inviting, quiet and welcome. The bellboy is eager to explain the amenities of the room, including the electric drapery controls the bedside lighting panel, the rain shower and hand controlled shower heads, grinning wide and offering warm hospitality.

I fall into bed . . .

Note to Ann Lippard – if you think the electrical situation in Mazatlán was interesting wait to see the pictures I’m going to post when I get to photo this place…

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Photos

Nutoes / Hong Kong Premium Lounge
Get those puppies elevated to reduce swelling