Weekend in Hanoi

 

The ecolodge was fully-booked last weekend, so I made a long dash off to the big city. Had to take public transportation and it was quite an experience! I got to the bus station, but didn't have to buy a ticket. I just gave the person $5 USD for a 4-hour trip (the same as STL to KC). I can hardly drive across town for $5 in my truck. One reason it took 4 hours was due to the many stops it made. Some to pick up people, and some for parcel / post delivery. It was interesting to see this happen. Nobody bought tickets. Lot's of trust in the money-changer, I suppose.

After arriving at the bus station in Hanoi, I was greeted by many people yelling "taxi" and "motorbike" very loudly. Although I needed to transfer, my first order of business was to find the WC. In public places you have to pay to pee, so I gladly paid my 2,000 dong (.10) to relieve myself. Next, was lunch and I was starving. The bus terminal is not the best place to eat lunch. It was an open-air food vendor and it was fairly crowded. I got some ramen noodles in a sealed container which looked cleaner than the bread exposed to the elements. Actually, the flies bothered me less than all the people squeezing the bread to see which loaf was softest. I only had few small bills and when I tried to pay, it was not enough. I reached for some coins in my pocket and the cashier just shrugged me off as if I were some tourist. Imagine that!

I caught a taxi and made it safely to the hotel. Dinner with some friends and afterwards went to the night market. It was miserably hot, so took a shower and went to bed.