It is raining here again tonight, which is par for the course so far here in Vietnam. After a full day of traveling yesterday we have been taking it easy so far today and spent most of the day making travel plans for the rest of our time here in Vietnam. As for yesterday we left Koh Samui around 9am. It was a pretty easy flight and we got to Bangkok around 1030am. About the only thing that was aggravating was that due to a miss communication Chris and I had to pay an additional 25 dollars to Thai airways since we left the terminal and came back in. It was pretty much BS since the lady in Koh Samui told us we had to re-check in after getting to Bangkok at the main desk, but when we did the guy said we should have stayed in the domestic terminal and gone to an international transfer desk. I am not sure what the deal was since we did not get the transfer sticker we were supposed to get, but it was a fitting end to Thailand... one last scam for the road. Once we got to Bangkok I started to feel a cold coming on and felt pretty under the weather the majority of the time we sat around the terminal. It was a long day of sitting and we finally boarded our plane for Hanoi around 5:50.
We arrived last night in Hanoi during a huge rainstorm. I thought the rain in China was bad, but it seemed to rain from every direction here. Just getting off the plane, even with covered stairs, we and our bags got soaked. Once inside the terminal we got through customs pretty easy and then got our bags. After exiting the terminal we found our driver to the hotel and got in a small car. The rain was still coming down and the roads had already started to flood. I swear the closest thing I can compare it to is the way it rains during a hurricane or tornado. Our driver from the airport was crazy. The guy accelerated though parts of the road the car could almost float in, passed people on all sides on both sides of the road, and honked at every motorbike we passed.. all while answering and texting on his cell phone. We drove for about 30 minutes through some pretty rough looking areas of the city. It was dark,raining and everything looked really old and run down.. not the best first impression. I could tell by the look on Chris's face he was thinking the same thing and I think we both were just glad to make it to the hotel.
We checked in and realized we had not had anything to eat since lunch and it was now 10pm. The kitchen in the hotel was closed so we ventured out in the rain. In a matter of seconds we were soaked from head to toe. Although the rain jacket helped keep my shirt dry my pants looked like I had jumped in a pool. We looked and looked for a place to eat and finally gave up. Instead we stopped by a small store and bought Ritz Crackers, Oreos, two cokes and a water. Yet another dinner of champions. I made short work of the crackers.. took some Tylenol and malaria and headed to bed.
Got up this morning around 10:30 and as I said we have not done much more than make plans and reservations for the rest of our stay here in Vietnam. I will say it has been a good day to rest for me and hopefully I will feel better in a couple days. As for tomorrow we may take in a few sights and then it is off to Ha Long Bay on Sunday.
