Joanna and I on an Elephant

Day 5: Travel Day and Elephants

Today we had to travel back to Bangkok where we’ll meet up with our friends, Bob, Lisa and Ryan and then to Hanoi. Just a little background on the trip to Hanoi: we didn’t think to get our Visas until about a week before we left, which was not enough time. So, our friend Bob found a tour company based in Vietnam to help us out. In order to make this happen, we had to book flights to Hanoi when we sent in the paperwork to the tour company (when we were back in the States). We weren’t able to do e-tickets, so we figured we would just pick them up at the airport. A few days into the Bangkok trip we discovered that I needed to confirm the tickets. I of course did not do this right away. When I called, I found out that I could not pick them up at the airport and that I had to go to the office. Long story short, we weren’t exactly sure when we were going to have to leave Chiang Mai, how we were going to get our tickets to Hanoi and once we arrived, if we were going to have a Visa to enter Vietnam. We made some calls and discovered that we might be able to get our tickets at the airport before the flight (although previously we were told no). We arrived at the airport and went to Air France, which was closed. So we went to the ticket desk and they found someone to open the office. There were some issues because we didn’t have a Visa. After promising them that we had one and they needed to trust us, they gave us our tickets. We met our friends and got on the plane.

I guess, somewhat surprisingly, there was someone waiting for us in front of the Passport line, just as they had said in the email. He walked us through the process and we were in Vietnam.
During our cab ride to the hotel, the driver asked us about every 3 minutes if we had already booked at the hotel that we were driving to. Literally, the guy never stopped asking. And then he asked if we wanted him to take us to another hotel. Along the way, we had the chance to drive through the old quarter, which was amazing. Hanoi was such a stark contrast to both Chiang Mai and Bangkok. A busy and bustling city with even more people driving motorbikes and scooters, without all the tall buildings that make Bangkok seem very Western. The streets were lined with the locals sitting on foot high stools eating dinner at some local food stand.

We quickly checked in and headed out to dinner at Bar 69. It was an interesting hole in the wall, frequented by backpackers in the Old Quarter. We chose this bar because they were open later than other restaurants. Hanoi (or Vietnam) has a rule (that is somewhat followed) that says that restaurants and bars can’t stay open past 11. So, as we sat down, they waiter let us know that we had a half hour to order and eat. We ordered some cheap beers and cheap food. It wasn’t bad. Although, the Hanoi beers were probably not the best beers we’ve had. While we were eating we saw a cockroach, which was exciting. Overall, all five of us ate and drank for $15, which is a pretty good deal.