Early morning flight at 8am. Airport at 6am.
Tiger Airways. First time going solo. It was on the plane where I really
actually started planning my entire trip based on the photocopies of pages from
the Lonely Planet. Arrived Hanoi at about 1030am Hanoi time. It is 1 hour
behind Singapore. Asked the Tourist info on how to get to 91C Hang Ma Street,
the address of Hanoi Hostel. There happened to be another person, Kiah, from
Australia who was making her way to the same hostel. The taxi fare quoted was
USD30. On hindsight it was really pricey, but we shared the cab so it was USD15
each. Ouch. Still pricey.
Checked into Hanoi Hostel, met Steve, another
Australian, who's been working around Vietnam for quite awhile now. First meal
in Vietnam was bun cha - bbqed chicken pieces in broth, and you dip these thick
beehoon and raw vegs into the broth, take them out and eat them. Street food.
Walked abit around Hanoi old district, went to the market, where people thought
I was Vietnamese, and they spoke to me in Vietnamese, and expected me to
translate it to Steve. :S
Booked my return night train ticket to Lao
Cai, where I'd change to a bus to Sapa. Cost: 930,000VND. 6-beds in a cabin.
Spent the afternoon walking around more of Hanoi old district. Attended evening
Sunday Mass at St. Joseph's Cathedral. Tried walking to the train station to
prepare myself that night. Left for Sapa the very same night. Night train at
2140h. I was on the lowest level of the 3-beds-on-1-side. I was taken aback
when other passengers sat on my bed before the train took off. I guess it was
normal for them. Just carried on my stuff. The sleep was relatively peaceful,
save for a few bumpy instances.
