Nothing in life is truly free. So when I cashed in my almost-expiring frequent flyer miles for a ticket to Vietnam via Cathay Pacific, I knew I would be paying with my time.
Yes, instead of a 3 hour flight from Singapore to Vietnam, I had to endure a 3.5-hour flight from Singapore to Hong Kong, a one hour transit, then a 1.5-hour flight from Hong Kong to Hanoi.
Total 6 hours.
Except, the engine of the Dragon Air flight failed. The minute I heard the engine struggling to start, I knew something was amiss. Then the announcement came. It would only take 20 minutes to fix.
Of course it took longer. It was over an hour’s delay. I only arrived at 2010 when I should’ve been in Vietnam at 1900. Luckily I had forked out some money and had a taxi waiting for me. Originally, I had planned to take a local bus into town. I’m glad I didn’t have to.
I dislike arriving late into a foreign place as it’s dark, you don’t see stuff, it’s hard to get one’s bearings. But one thing I learnt quickly enough is this: People in Vietnam pretty much drive the same way they do in the Philippines. They like to straddle two lanes.
But the Vietnamese have taken this sort of driving to an even finer art. The art of glide driving.
The key is this: When applying brakes, slow down, but never actually stop. Stopping is disaster. And so cars weave in and out of and in between lanes and other vehicles. Even if there’s a car right across the road right in front of you and the normal instinct would be to stop, you must resist from doing so. You must, instead, turn your steering wheel go around the vehicle driving perpendicular to you, before turning back into the path you originally intended.
Braking distance? What’s that? Bumper to bumper weaving is what I’m talking about.
In the 30-40 minute drive from airport to the hotel I’m staying in, I noticed only 4 traffic lights. The other roads were just random junctions, wide junctions with tiny roundabouts and vehicles do come from every direction, because roads they have to get to are going in every direction.
Of course the driver must use all the signals in his arsenal – flash headlamps impatiently at slow drivers, and honk excessively at every vehicle that might cross his path.
So here I am in Joseph’s Hotel. It will be my base in Hanoi. I have no idea what is around me. But tomorrow morning, I shall attempt at 0530 wakeup to head to Hoan Kiem Lake to take photos.