My second visit out to Hanoi, the demo’s and visits of my previous trip back in June 2014 bearing some fruit. This time I arrived in to Noi Bai, Hanoi’s brand new International Airport. Very nice too. Lots more space, everything flowed smoothly and there is now no longer a bustle of illegal cab drivers to get through. Very nice.
Being so impressed with my previous hotel, the Pullman, I attempted to book again but with some high-powered conference taking place there, it wasn’t possible. My agent friend recommended a few smaller hotels in the Old Quarter of Hanoi, which was convenient for me to entertain myself in the evenings, but also made his task of picking me up each day a LOT easier too. Finally I chose the Essence Hanoi, one of a small chain of very unique, individual hotels. Again, with a favourable exchange rate I opted for a Junior Suite Double, higher up the hotel with a balcony and it came with a host of complimentary goodies like daily fresh fruit bowl, mini-bar, daily breakfast, free WiFi, in-room laptop to name a few. Checking in was like returning home. The staff here are all amazingly welcoming and very friendly and as I sat with the receptionist chatting while she checked me in, I enjoyed a cool fresh juice that had suddenly appeared. Delightful. I was shown to my room and I made myself at home which really wasn’t very difficult to do.
My primary purpose on this trip was to work and to teach a group of engineers how to use our test equipment. Customer interaction and teaching were things that I always avoided, at all cost, but taking this job forced me in to it but it’s now something I really quite enjoy. Funny how things turn out. The guys, and one girl, at A45 in Hanoi looked after me exceptionally well and despite our language differences we got on extremely well. The guys fed me at their favourite eateries and also introduced me to some of their passions and I must admit we had great fun.
Weekends are usually hard work when you travel, being alone and away from your family can make it tough to fill the time. I always attempt to find things to do and see, especially in a country that I may never return to and I do try to get out and explore if I have some free time. My host and a couple of the other engineers asked if they could take me out on a trip and I was more than delighted to accept and was duly picked up on Saturday morning and within a short while we had a full car and we set off for our first destination, Trang An. Google describes it as a ‘Scenic Landscape Complex’ which kind of doesn’t do it justice. Towering rocks and a meandering river that occasionally takes you through these towering rocks and in to amazing cave systems, some lit, some not. Some very low indeed. But it is quite simply stunning! You pay a fee to get in then join a line to pick up a flat-bottomed boat, akin to a punt, solely powered by a tiny Vietnamese women perched on the back, who for the next couple hours rows you around the river with a couple of flimsy oars. We selected the long trip and on route there are temples to visit and birds and wildlife to see. It was busy. Very busy. A constant stream of boats were leaving the dock and winding their ways around the route and some of the temples were slightly congested too as people paid their respects to particular deities. It was immensely enjoyable though and a really relaxing thing to do.
We then departed for our second stop, pausing only briefly for refreshment at a roadside cafe, to visit the immense Bai Dinh Pagoda. This was originally quite a modest Buddhist temple, but a newer and bigger temple has been recently built to celebrate the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long-Ha Noi, on an adjacent site in a setting that is to be honest, just absolutely huge !!! Walking up to the temple itself and then on to the Pagoda and then up to the gigantic Buddha at the top was quite a feat in the heat as it was an eye watering 300 steps in all. But it was well worth the climb as the view from the top was simply amazing. Buddhas of all shapes and sizes line the stepped paths on each side of the walk up to the temple, each of them a different purpose.
Yours truly stands out quite plainly as Westerner and at nearly 6’2″ I tower over most Vietnamese, but I suddenly became the target of selfies and several posed photos with the locals. An instant celebrity I guess. Very odd indeed. But fun nonetheless. This phenomenon happened back at Trang An when several boats passed us the occupants would all wave, especially the women, I of course waved back but was then told that the conversations between out boat and there’s was about having Brad Pitt on board !!! Really? I don’t think so.
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- Steve Young Fan Club
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- Steve Young Fan Club
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- Steve Young Fan Club
Back at the Essence Hotel and sat in the cool calmness of my room supping a cold beer from the fridge, I reflected on having a great day out with my new friends. Thanks guys for such a great weekend.
With the second of my two weeks teaching whizzing by I once again found myself at Noi Bai airport, but as sad as I was to leave Hanoi, my long trip home was made longer by a severely delayed flight out of Hanoi which subsequently meant I then missed my connection out of Hong Kong, forcing a brief over-night stay, courtesy of Cathay Pacific, before restarting my homeward journey again the following day. This has to go down as my shortest hotel stay ever, a shade over 7 hours, including some sleep and a buffet breakfast. I must say that this is the first time this kind of thing has ever happened, so I’ve been very lucky.
Hanoi again was simply charming and I enjoyed this visit to Vietnam even more than my previous. Residing in the Essence Hotel, smack in the middle of the Old Quarter of Hanoi meant I could explore the area on foot in the evenings. Looking for somewhere nice to eat, finding nice coffee shops or just sightseeing made the evenings go quicker and also gave me a better feel for Hanoi.
mrandmrsyoung 