It’s BISS Spring Break for the next week, and time for us to go to Vietnam. Our flight doesn’t leave until 3:30 pm, so we have lots of time to sleep late and leisurely pack. We leave around 12:45 pm, arriving at the airport at 1:30. We can’t remember when we flew out of this terminal (#2). We usually fly out of Terminal 3, so the check-in procedure is a different. We have to go through a minor security check, just to get to the check-in desk. The line isn’t long to get our boarding passes, and the main security line isn’t too bad. It gets slow because the guards are really thorough when they “wand” the people going through.
The Vietnam Airlines flight leaves close to the scheduled departure. There’s a different “vibe” on this plane. We’ve flown lots of different carriers, and these attendants are less friendly than some of the others. They’re efficient, but fewer smiles. The flight is 3 ½ hours long. Arrival in Hanoi is easy and when we get through the short immigration line, our luggage is already out. As we go out to the arrival hall, our guide for Vietnam meets us quickly. He’s friendly and it isn’t long until we’re in our car and headed into Hanoi. The airport is brand new, as is the wide highway going into town.
2 Video links to our drive into Hanoi. Lots and lots of motorbikes. Did I say a lot of motorbikes? You can hear our guide talking in the background.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/69dfn70s2eoetcq/15.3.28.Hanoi%20arrival%201.MOV?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/zl3gl2yqm3g20sh/15.3.28.Hanoi%20arrival%202.MOV?dl=0
It’s Saturday night! Really lively!
When we get into the older part of Hanoi where our hotel (Sofitel Metropole) is located, the roads narrow, and motorbikes are swarming everywhere. It’s a fun ride. The hotel is really nice. It was built over 100 years ago, but the renovations they’ve done are great. As we drive up, there are 3-4 heavily armed guards outside, as well as body and luggage scanners as we walk in. There is a big conference in town, and some of the diplomats are staying here.
It’s kinda fancy for complimentary water, isn’t it?
