Hello Hà Nội

We are now technically empty nesters with both our children living most of the time not at home, although if you looked in their wardrobes you wouldn’t think this is the case. With our new ‘nest’ status my first husband and I decided it was time to have an overseas trip together to see if we still like each other. First stop, Vietnam.

I was in charge of booking ground transport and accommodation, and Murray took charge of flights and airport parking. For reasons that I guess were budgetary, he chose the new ‘South’ Park’n’ride at Auckland airport. This turned out to be a good option but the map provided on how to get there would be 3/10 on a good day. It showed no landmarks to guide you, just a big ‘P’ in the middle of Puhinui Road, which is a winding and quite confusing road when you navigate it for the first time.

With the car safely deposited, we caught the free bus to the airport arriving over 3 hours before our scheduled departure on Air NZ. The airport was like a ghost town at 8.30 pm on a Friday so there was no wait for an Air NZ check-in booth. The only hiccough was that after sliding in our passports and pushing all the correct buttons we were summoned to talk to a human, this turned out to be to so they could check we had visas for Vietnam which they did by requesting the piece of paper we had printed at home.

There are a multitude of official-looking sites when you try to apply for a Vietnam visa, don’t be fooled though this is the official one https://evisa.xuatnhapcanh.gov.vn/

Others will probably do the job they will be more expensive than the official site which did do the job, and we were issued with boarding passes to Hanoi. While the airport was largely devoid of people, every single person in the airport seemed to be on our flight. Fortunately, we both had empty seats next to the aisle seats we had selected (we aren’t a couple that needs to sit next to each other on aeroplanes) and my row mate had perfect middle seat etiquette, we both observed the imaginary line that divided the middle seat.

While it’s only been just over 12 months since we did a long-haul flight I was disturbed by the cost or earth-saving measures implemented since then. I wish someone had told me. I wasn’t prepared. We boarded our flight to Singapore, found our seats and there was not a welcome pack in sight. No socks. No mask. No toothbrush. What has the world come to, first they stopped smoking on planes, and now this.

The first flight from Auckland to Singapore was smooth and fairly restful, which is saying something from this person who prefers to have her feet on terra firma. I wish I could say the same for the 2nd leg. As we were on the airbridge waiting to board our Singapore Airlines flight from Singapore to Hanoi I overheard a woman talking to her friend about valium. Specifically how much she’d taken already, how wasted she was feeling and wondering if she should take another or wait. Interesting, I thought. I’ve got melatonin and I thought taking one of those was risque but I couldn’t hold a candle to this kind of airplane narcotic use.

The boarding and taxiing of the flight were normal. The pilot did say that the fasten seatbelt signs would probably be on a bit longer after takeoff due to some rough weather. Over 90 minutes after takeoff when the fasten seatbelt signs still glowed ominously, even the crew were not allowed to unbuckle, and my bladder was on the point of bursting, I was ready to scream down the aisles to find the woman with the valium. Safe to say it was probably the least favourite flight of my life. It did land safely in Hanoi eventually, where the airport arrivals were smoother than expected, they didn’t even want to see our visa paper, and we were met by Craig, our host for the next 3 nights.

The hour-long taxi drive reintroduced us to Vietnam traffic. The last time we visited the Socialist Republic of Vietnam which has a population of around 100 million people, was with our kids who were 9 and 6 at the time. A lot of our energy went into making sure they didn’t get run over. Sitting in a taxi as a pair of adults was weirdly relaxing even though the purpose of the road white divider lines seems to be to line up under the middle of your car until you want to drift randomly across lanes to increase your place in the slow-moving traffic by one. Gently beeps on the horn from other drivers let you know that they are there as they swerve millimetres away from you while mopeds weave in and out. Red lights seem to be compulsory for cars but are suggestions for mopeds who weave through the traffic with or without a green light to make their way across. Green men on a pedestrian crossing are also not an indication that you won’t meet traffic as you cross the road but as long as you keep moving at a predictable pace they all move around you.

After arriving at 11 am after a couple of long-haul flights the challenge is to stay awake until a reasonable bedtime. When we sat on Craig’s enormous, comfortable couch at about 1 pm to watch the Bledisloe Cup game I knew I wasn’t up to this challenge. I excused myself, set an alarm and had a blissful 30 minutes of shut-eye. Craig teaches in Hanoi and lives in Park City https://www.parkcityhanoi.com.vn/en/index.html which says it is, ‘conceived to shape a good society by promoting wholesome living’ – I love a bit of wholesome living. This modern gated community is juxtaposed with more traditional Hanoi living as soon as you leave and cross the main road which we did at 4 pm to find some dinner. We entered a maze of narrow streets where nail salons, moped repairers and high-end bathroom fitting stores sit side by side. Along the road, many street food stalls set up selling their specialities cooked over coal BBQs.

Letting our local host take the lead saw us try a fried sweet potato and taro dish which I’d compare to hash browns. What Craig described as a ‘Vietnamese Cornish pasty’, a fried pastry (?) filled with veggies, ground meat and rice noodles and finally a meat skewer which I’m convincing myself was pork. Dinner (albeit a light bite) for 3 for 55000 Dong (under $4 NZD). After wandering a bit further enjoying being greeted by kids who popped out to see the strangers in their hood and yelling ‘hallo’ with broad smiles, we went to the Park City supermarket to buy some supplies (wine, beer and snacks) and headed back to Craig’s three-level villa for some wholesome living on his covered patio. We enjoyed catching up as the light rain turned heavy, and the sky provided a sound and light show.

As 7 pm ticked over I headed off for bed and I’m thrilled to report I had a mostly uninterrupted 13 hours of sleep.

Day 2

My cousin boasted on Facebook today that he had taken up running as a middle-aged crisis and ran 21km in 2 hours.

That’s impressive and all but today, after a breakfast of pho, we did 13 km.

In 8 hours.

To break up the time on our feet we stopped for:

1/ a Vietnamese iced coffee. A syrupy thick shot of cold coffee poured over a layer of condensed milk. Ice on the side to mix in which may, or may, have been tap water – time will tell.

2/ one hour break at La Flora Day Spa. My hour of choice was a 30-minute foot and leg massage and a 30-minute mini facial. Normally not a good choice in the middle of the day but by 1 pm my makeup had pretty much sweated off anyway.

3/ a pork and pate bahn mi from Bahn Mi 25, washed down with a mojito

4/ plenty of time to people watch, a fascinating experience

5/ a stroll down Train Street. Although no trains were passing at the time we wandered down the middle of the tracks (thank goodness).

All this in the Hanoi heat, and with intermittent showers.

Hanoi has so far proved to be a fascinating place. As a female traveller, I’ve noticed a few things that are quite different from other steamy hot countries I’ve travelled to previously (i.e. Malaysia, India and Morocco to name a few).

1/ You don’t have to cover up. It’s okay to wear shorts, a sleeveless top, or a short skirt, which is of course, a blessing when the temp is hitting 30 degrees Celsius and the humidity is high.

2/ The city feels very safe. Although I had a few female vendors outside the oldest university in Vietnam offer to sell me a fan, in no way all day did I feel harassed or harangued.

3/ The city feels so safe that our host doesn’t look the door to his house. Walking, often on the road as the footpaths have been disrupted by the recent typhoon, with mopeds whizzing by millimetres away, never did I feel my shoulder bag was at risk of being whipped off my person. It makes for a relaxing sightseeing experience.

The challenges we are facing are mostly related to my husband’s recent hip replacement. He’s only just over two months into his rehab and although he’s doing great the uneven footpaths are a bit of hazard. These have been made worse by the recent typhoon which flooded many streets raising cobblestones at weird angles. He chose to spend most of the day walking along the side of the road, as he’s not the only one doing this no one batted an eyelid. The biggest obstacle though is that 99% of eating establishments seating are plastic stools that you’d see toddlers use in New Zealand. I wonder because of this if hip replacements are much needed in Vietnam? Or are their hips all well-flexed through their lives so that it’s not such an issue? Something to ponder for another day.

Our day ended with another trip to the supermarket for supplies and Vietnam’s version of Uber Eats in the form of bun bowls. Rice vermicelli, crispy pork (or spring rolls), and crunchy vegetables and lettuce, topped with peanuts and nuoc cham sauce. The perfect light and fresh meal to top off an excellent first day on the ground.