Hanoi

Now, arrived in Hanoi, It continued to rain in Da Nang. I was caught in one huge downpour in the morning after two local guys told me "no rain today". I guess weather is the same all over the world-unpredicatable. While in that rainstorm, I walked into a local booking office to check on the status of my flight. I was told that the flight time was been changed to 9:20 PM, which was 4 hours later than the scheduled time. I wasn't real happy, but what could I do? Nothing. So I paid a few extra dollars at my hotel so I could stay until 4 PM, then keep my bag at the front desk, while I walked around and had dinner. I still worried that it had rain so much that the flight might not actually happen.

Sometime after 6 PM, I took a taxi to the airport. Da Nang is an international


airport, but quite small. It is the third largest city in Vietnam; just disappointed that I couldn't really see much there because of the weather. At the airport, I met a young couple from Vancouver BC, so it help pass the time. In checking in with Jetstar, they said nothing about the 4 hour delay. In fact, we didn't take off until about 10 PM. Again, no mention of a reason but the plane was full. This is a budget airlines, which flies to Australia, but I might not use again because they obvious can't keep to a decent schedule.




It didn't affect me terribly but I did call my hotel in Hanoi to tell them I would be much later. Also, I was planning to connect with Pam Cromer who was flying in from CA. at the same time. Now, because my flight was much later, I thought I might miss her so I email her hotel to give the driver who was picking her up a message. Thank god for technology. Ha!! Well, Pam was there waiting for me when I landed in Hanoi, so then we rode to the hotel together. My hotel, which is much cheaper(about $18 per night) is almost right across the road from her though. It was great to see her smiling face at the airport!! And luckily, the driver had not giver her my email and she only noticed that he had an extra paper so she took it from him, then knew my flight problem. Fate!!

I got to the hotel at midnight. I had stayed here before but now remodeled.


In December, Hanoi celebrated 1000 years, and it seems that the whole area was spiffied up for the occasion. Inside my room, the floor, bathroom, and beds looked new. I was pleased and look forward to a some much needed rest. Maybe tonight I would not hear the rain pounding outside. Hanoi appeared dry and very comfortable at 70 F, which is quite cool to the locals but fabulous to me. Once in bed, I didn't hear anything. I didn't sleep that long, but it was all I needed to recharge for the day. Glad to see some dry weather...

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