We Have Arrived Safe and Sound

Day 1 Traveling to Vietnam

Flight
We started the day from Decatur at 10:00am Thursday and drove to Kevin and Sue’s house in Lagrange because he drove us to O’Hare airport. All of our flights went right on schedule. The legs of our trip were Chicago to L.A., L.A. to Hong Kong, and Hong Kong to Vietnam. At the end of our journey, it all totaled 36 hours. 21 hours actual flying time and the remainder either layover or traveling to and from the airports.

We all did really well on the flights. I was especially proud at how well Logan did. I knew he would travel well and he proved it.

We met up with Tracey and her sister Amy at L.A. who is also going to Vietnam to adopt Max. They flew to Hong Kong a couple of hours before our flight but we were able to see them again because we had to same flight from Hong Kong to Vietnam.

The flight from L.A. to Hong Kong was very long (14 hrs) but we were able to get a few hours of sleep in the beginning of the flight But since our bodies were still on Decatur time, we were up most of the flight. The only problem we had on the flight was a teenager who was sitting across the aisle from me vomited all over the place. The flight attendants were quick to clean it up so it wasn’t that bad. Becky and I kind of felt sorry for him and for the guy who sat in front of him because he got the blunt of the nasty stuff.

Trip from the airport to the hotel
When we arrived at Hanoi airport, you can tell the country is quite poor. The terminal is very old and in need of renovating. We were loaded onto old buses that gave off lots of exhaust and transported to the main terminal. The terminal is quite small, about the size of Bloomington’s terminal, so we were able to quickly get through customs, obtain our bags, and proceed to the front of the terminal to find our ride. There was a young man with a sign that had our names on it and the name of the hotel we were staying at. Within 10 min, he had us with baggage in a car and on our way to the hotel.

The car was a late model car that was very comfortable. The driver was a young man who spoke pretty good English and was very friendly. There were a couple of times he had me confused but Becky was able to follow what he was saying. We chatted to him about the traffic, weather, and mostly about the people of Vietnam. The drive to Hanoi was quite an experience. This is where you get to cut your teeth on the driving styles of Vietnam. It appears most people opt for motor scooters as their mode of travel. Some scooters have anywhere from one to four/five persons on them and some people carrying large amounts of goods their scooters. We saw one fellow carrying at least 50-75 cartons of eggs on his scooter. I asked the driver if there were many accidents. He said that he had just pasted an accident on his way to pick us up at the airport. We pasted the same accident in which he spoke about on our way to our hotel. A scooter carrying two people were hit by a delivery truck and the persons died. We saw what was left of the scooter under the truck and a crowd was working to get it out from under the truck. Our driver apologized that we had to see this. Shortly after we passed the accident, our driver cracked his window and threw a couple of bills (dong) out of the window. He explained that in Vietnam it is customary to leave money for the spirit of the dead so people driving by a deadly accident throw money as they pass by. As we got closer to the city, the traffic really picked up. This is when you realized you are no longer in “Kansas” anymore. At every intersection cars, trucks, and many scooters enter from every direction with no one stopping. It is the craziest thing I have ever seen. I was very impressed we made it to the hotel without a scratch.

The streets of Hanoi are very dense with all the building right on top of each other. When we stopped in front of the Hotel, I didn’t even notice the hotel. Every hotel, store, eatery all seem to blend into each other. The streets are lined with scooters parked everywhere. Someone on one in Becky’s email group who had already been to Vietnam said baby strollers was of no use on the sidewalks and they were not kidding. Scooters and people are everywhere on the sides of the roads and sidewalks. Many times while walking on the sidewalks you have to step into the road to get by.

Hotel Hong Ngoc
The hotel Hong Ngoc is very quaint. The staff is very friendly and they were very quick to get us checked-in and up to our room. The hotel has a small café, bar, and visitor center on the first floor. Our room is a suite on the third floor. The air conditioning works better in the rooms. The bed has a very thin mattress and the furniture is all wood, no cushions. The floors are marble tile and the room is decorated with pottery and several traditional Vietnamese pictures.

Our first trip out
We got unpacked and took showers and we let Logan take a nap. This was a big mistake since his body was still on Decatur time. It was only 3:00 pm on Saturday and we knew if he continued to sleep, he would be up all night. We finally woke him and went for a walk to get something to eat. Becky ran into another couple she knew would be here so she held their baby and we talked for a while. Logan had a hard time staying awake so we decided to go find a place to eat.

Walking through the streets of Hanoi takes some getting use to. It seemed kind of easy driving in the car from the airport, but when you actually get to walk through the streets, it is another thing. One thing we learned quickly is when you cross a street don’t stop walking. I think the people on the scooters actually factor this into their steering. Never the less we made it several blocks to a Vietnamese Italian pasta house and back without getting hit. On the way to the restaurant, we were approached a couple of times for money. One was a student selling maps and Becky and I politely said no and the other was an old man with his arms stretched out holding his hat. I didn’t have any small bills so I kept walking but he proceeded to follow me for 15 or 20 feet. This really concerned Logan. So much that he kept talking about it at dinner and asked if we could walk on the opposite side of the road so not to walk by him again. This as course meant risking our lives more.

We made it back to the Hotel in one piece and when we arrived in our room the extra bed for Logan was already there along with the crib that will be used for Gracie in a couple of days. After a very long trip and quite the culture shock we went to sleep at 6:00 pm.