This post must begin with a nod to the Vietnam railway services. The reason we say this is not because of the comfort of our “soft” sleeper (LOL), or because of the size of the bathroom (LOL), or because of the easy steps up and down to board (LOL), or the cleanliness of the station (LOL).....nope....they’re getting this nod because of the recording that played as we arrived in Hanoi terminal. The recording said, “if we have made any mistakes, please forgive us and let us know how we can improve.” Lynda is debating calling to suggest they spray for bugs!
Sitting here in the Hanoi airport feeling pretty dizzy to tell the truth. All four of us had very little sleep and either this airport building is experiencing an earthquake or we’re still “on the train”. The taxi here was quick and easy and the second we arrived at the airport Lynda and Lorrie both located benches to lay on. Both were asleep in seconds. Gail and Darlene, troopers that they are, scoped out the place. Within 20 minutes they were back with the news that we were in the wrong Terminal! Our damn taxi driver had dropped us miles from where we needed to be. Luckily there is a shuttle and a nice airport worker who scooted us onto the shuttle even where no one is allowed to access the shuttle. The shuttle driver was also very sweet and drove us directly to Terminal 2 Food Court which is right next to our check in counter as we were ready for breakfast.
Breakfast was eventful. Remember we are all tired and maybe even a little grumpy.....first we had to decide where to eat. Once that was done....we had to decide what to eat. From there we only had to eat it. Darlene, Lorrie, and Lynda were all successful on that front but Gail (who for the first time had found a dish she loved) also found a hair in her meal! OMG! That finished her! On the upside, they didn’t charge her but on the downside....she was still hangry (yes...that is not a typo....it is hungry and angry combined. LOL). Actually she wasn’t really angry...just hungry so we went downstairs to the Burger King so she could get some fries and a coke. Something familiar was just what the doctor ordered! Once she’d made short work of that familiar food she located four seats in a row so she could lay down and have a snooze. Now for those of you have slept in an airport before you’ll know that isn’t always an easy thing to do. There are people milling about you everywhere, the lights are bright, it is noisy, and it is hard to stop thinking about all of the people who MUST be looking at you. Well, Gail did it and she did it in style like a pro. She set her suitcase up by her head, got Lynda to sit by her head and then when right to sleep. We could see people coming to sit all around her (except in the seat Lynda occupied right be her head) but Gail just slept through it all. A sure sign of just how tired she was! 20 minutes is really all it takes to feel better and so here we are just a few minutes later and all is good in the world. :-).
There was something else that you might call eventful that happened at our first breakfast this morning. We were sitting there minding our own business when a sudden announcement came over the loudspeakers in perfect English (which is a little unusual so caught our attention right away). The voice said, “a few moments ago we announced that there may be a fire in the building...we just want to reassure you there is no fire....everything is under control.” WTH?!
We never heard the announcement about a fire. Maybe they only announced that part of it in Vietnamese! Maybe that is why we seem to be the only ones in this part of the airport! LOL....I guess this is where all there is to say is, ‘all is well that ends well.’ :-)
We’re waiting for our flight to Luang Prabang and have about one more hour before we can check in. All four of us are anxious to get to our next hotel where a shower and a bed of some sort will be first on the list.
We’re in Laos. :-). Although I’m guessing that the photos they took of us here at immigration might look more like some pretty rough mug shots than what we really look like! It’s been 22 hours since we began the journey to get here and yes we had a sleeper car on the train but really....that actually can’t be counted as rest time. In fact the train journey was rough enough that we might even be able to count it as extra tough! So imagine the immigration officers here in Luang Prabang....they must have taken one look at us and thought....WTH?! These can’t be the same people as the photos in the passports. In fact, the immigration officer that had Gail in his line up questioned her on her travel plans and she even had to dig out her Vietnamese visa to show him! But in the end...we made it through this long journey relatively unscathed.
Our accommodation at Villa Oasis is going to be great once we get Darlene and Gail downgraded to a room on the bottom floor too. Lynda and I have already been downgraded and are very grateful for that! The stairs here are rickety at best and it is way too hot to be climbing stairs!!! This is reminiscent of Zanzibar when we asked the manager of the Z Hotel for a downgrade and she laughed so hard....she said never in all her years in hotel management had she had anyone ask for a downgrade. :-). Heck, she’s probably still talking about the crazy Canadian grandmas who stayed with her a couple of years ago. LOL
But I digress...back to the airport and our arrival in Laos. Did you know that Canada pays the highest fees of any country for a visa into Laos? Well we do....we pay $42 USD (plus the same $1 service fee that every country pays) but most other countries pay about $30 USD. I think there were two countries that pay $40 but that’s it....no one in the world pays more than us! I wonder why that is? Maybe mr google will be able to help me find out the answer to that bizarre question.
From the airport we secured a taxi for $10 USD (they seem to accept USD here as easily as the local currency, Kip) and marvelled at the scenery during our 20 minute ride into town. Our hotel is at the end of a little walkway off one of the main streets and as a result it is super quiet and as its name suggests....a little oasis. (Villa Oasis is the hotel). We were met by two of the staff who took our luggage from us and quickly had us seated by a pond where welcome drinks and a plate of fresh fruit helped refresh us from our journey.
We’ve now been here long enough to all have had a shower and Lynda and Gail have gone out in search of some big bottles of water for our rooms as well as a bite to eat and maybe they’ll even bring us back a special sweet treat to help celebrate this new leg of our adventure. :-) I’m catching up on this blog and Darlene is focused on locating her sunglasses as this place is going to require that we have them. Today was 33 degrees and tomorrow could be more of the same. I’ve totally given up on the crazy weather app on my phone! It says it is supposed to be thunder storms here right now and there is not a rain drop in sight! This is the same app that tells me we’re supposed to have thunderstorms for at least the next week no matter where we are in our trip. I’m calling BS on this weather app....it’s no good at all!
The sun has gone down on our first night in Luang Prabang. This place has a very good feel to it....we’re looking forward to having a couple of days to experience it.
Till next time,
Darlorlyngai
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