And so I have departed Thailand and boarded Thai Airways to Hanoi, Vietnam. I had to leave at 330 am and had barely little sleep. I slept so well on the plane even though it was only an hour and a half. As the plane pushed through the cloud cover as it was landing, beautiful mountains and green fields appeared. Old red and cream buildings lined the streets and the city loomed in the distance. I felt so happy and excited. I knew right then that I am going to love this place.
Upon arrival I got my visa and then my luggage. I had a long layover, close to 5 hours. I walked around to look at the food but all I could recognise was pizza and water. I started with water first. When I felt braver I would walk along the airport and see what I could try. Also, Vietnamese men are very attractive.
I ended up just getting a baguette with egg on it. It wasn’t very good. I sat next to a western boy because it was the only seat open. This weird Vietnamese kid with no shoes and dirty hands kept bugging the guy and then started bugging me. The guy Ian was from Northern England and here to teach English in Ho Chi Minh except he is getting paid unlike me the volunteer. He was returning from a weekend trip to Hanoi. Meeting him definitely passed the time and we helped each other out to find our way in the most confusing airport I have ever been in. Our flight was a JetStar flight. When it finally came on the board there was writing next to it in Vietnamese. We thought that it might be delayed or cancelled. Eventually, it said that we had to go to counter 71. There was no counter 71. Turned out we had to go downstairs where the international terminals were and then come all the way back upstairs to the other side of the building to go through customs. Strange setup.
I learned very fast that there are no such thing as ques or lines here. It’s just complete madness. We had to take a shuttle bus to the flight and pile on like sardines. Finally, on the flight both Ian and I passed out cold. When we arrived to Ho Chi Minh City as soon as the flight stopped everyone rushed to stand up and grab their overhead luggage. It was so fast and chaotic! I actually exclaimed ‘Wow crazy!’ and a few people that could understand me laughed. A pretty Vietnamese girl that I met smiled and told me that she was happy we survived the flight on the small plane. She was nervous to get on it in the beginning. Finally, it was time to collect my luggage and meet the I-to-I people that were coming to collect me. I said goodbye to Ian and grabbed my luggage and was greeted by two Vietnamese girls from the company. One spoke English well and explained what I needed to know and the other escorted me in the cab. She didn’t know much English.
The cab driver and the girl carried on about things during the drive and laughed a lot. I was amazed by what I was witnessing outside. I thought that Bali was crazy for its motorbike traffic but HCMC was absolutely nuts! Parades of hundreds of motorbikes rounded corners and weaved in and out of traffic. The traffic was crazy and the city is quite old and run down and seems crazy as well. Finally the cab driver surprised me and spoke English to me and explained that there are 1 million in HCMC and half drive motorbikes. We finally got to the accommodation that the program set up for me at Hotel Thanh Thao.
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Once again I was completely overwhelmed. Everyone barely spoke English and I was ushered to my room. It was alright. The hotel was pretty run down but I had the room to myself. The bed is incredibly hard which is something I have noticed about all the Asian beds that I have been in so far. I really hope I can sleep as I am severely lacking that. The shower is next to the toilet. There is no separator. Strange.
Anyway I ventured out to try to find food before I could get some sleep. I asked the receptionist where is a good place to eat. She went to her computer and Googled KFC. I laughed and tried to explain that I am vegetarian. She told me to follow her and we walked along the streets and she tried to speak what little English she knew. The place she had in mind was closed so she took me to another really nice place and made sure that I could find my way back. Then she left.
There was one problem: No one spoke English and the menu was completely in Vietnamese! I knew I would encounter this but I wasn’t prepared for no English at all. So I got out my dictionary and tried to explain. Eventually the entire wait staff was huddled around me, staring at me like I was some alien and no one could understand. One by one I picked the words I wanted out of the book and they nodded. Finally, maybe an hour later, they understood and the chef, who was panicky by now, went to the back and cooked me a delicious meal of veggies and rice with a delicious sauce. They also stood and watched me eat it the entire time.
Afterwards I thanked them with the words they taught me while I waited for the food. And then I walked back to the hotel and took a wonderful shower next to the toilet. I feel very refreshed and sleep will be wonderful…even in this hard bed that is currently making my bum sore as I am sitting in it and writing this. Tomorrow I have to meet with the volunteers and coordinators at 8 a.m. and then we are free to explore the city. I am certain I will have even more adventures.
One thing is for sure. I am in a completely different world!
Current music: Arcade Fire- Deep Blue
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