First Night at Hanoi
26 November 2006
I left Singapore Changi Airport with mixed feelings. There was a sense of excitement as this would be the first time I’d be traveling alone. Well, I did have a group of course mates I’d be traveling with, but still, we were very much by ourselves.
The flight on board Vietnam Airlines was a fairly good one. The legroom was definitely better than what Jetstar offered when I went to Hong Kong last month. Food was quite yummy too. I had steamed fish, mushrooms and vegetables and rice. I was seated with Miriam and Deborah (yup, there’s two of us!). Deborah loved the bread rolls and asked for seconds so I guess they were good too!
I had an unusual sharp pain in the head just before the plane landed. I don’t know what caused it, but I hope it didn’t signal me falling sick. My stomach cramps didn’t help either, and really, I was just using my mental strength to wish all the pain away.
The plane landed later than scheduled and by the time it hit the tarmac, we were some half an hour behind. By the time we collected our luggage – boy did we have to wait long! – it was around 9.30pm, Vietnam time.
I had wanted to head straight to the hotel as I didn’t feel too well, but the guide asked if we could stop over some place for dinner since she and the driver hadn’t eaten dinner. We obliged politely. After all, with our zero knowledge of their local language, and their limited vocabulary of the English language, we weren’t in a position to negotiate much!
The pho – rice noodles with beef in soup – was yummy! I felt bad not being able to finish my food but my stomach was rebelling as I tried to feed it with food so late at night! Our guide from the university, Tu, was gracious and paid dinner for us. Now I felt doubly bad for not finishing the food.
I didn’t expect too much out of my hotel room since we were told it was a 2-star hotel. After Hong Kong, well, I guess I was prepared for the worst.
Surprisingly, the room was nice – and clean. It wasn’t fancy, but it was nice enough for me.
As I unpacked, it felt different as it was the first time I didn’t have anyone to talk to… I was glad I brought my favourite teddy bear along. It made me not miss home too much.
I slowly unpacked and was glad they provided hangers so I could hang out my shirts and jackets. I didn’t have much in my luggage… How did it ever get to be 25kg! I was determined to give away as many of the books I brought as possible so I’d have room for some of the things I intended to buy!
Tomorrow will be our first day at the Hanoi University of Business and Technology. We still don’t know what we have to do, but I’m hoping everything will turn out OK.
It’s only Day zero and I’m missing home – my mum and bro, my friends, my WIFI. 13 more days to go!
I left Singapore Changi Airport with mixed feelings. There was a sense of excitement as this would be the first time I’d be traveling alone. Well, I did have a group of course mates I’d be traveling with, but still, we were very much by ourselves.
The flight on board Vietnam Airlines was a fairly good one. The legroom was definitely better than what Jetstar offered when I went to Hong Kong last month. Food was quite yummy too. I had steamed fish, mushrooms and vegetables and rice. I was seated with Miriam and Deborah (yup, there’s two of us!). Deborah loved the bread rolls and asked for seconds so I guess they were good too!
I had an unusual sharp pain in the head just before the plane landed. I don’t know what caused it, but I hope it didn’t signal me falling sick. My stomach cramps didn’t help either, and really, I was just using my mental strength to wish all the pain away.
The plane landed later than scheduled and by the time it hit the tarmac, we were some half an hour behind. By the time we collected our luggage – boy did we have to wait long! – it was around 9.30pm, Vietnam time.
I had wanted to head straight to the hotel as I didn’t feel too well, but the guide asked if we could stop over some place for dinner since she and the driver hadn’t eaten dinner. We obliged politely. After all, with our zero knowledge of their local language, and their limited vocabulary of the English language, we weren’t in a position to negotiate much!
The pho – rice noodles with beef in soup – was yummy! I felt bad not being able to finish my food but my stomach was rebelling as I tried to feed it with food so late at night! Our guide from the university, Tu, was gracious and paid dinner for us. Now I felt doubly bad for not finishing the food.
I didn’t expect too much out of my hotel room since we were told it was a 2-star hotel. After Hong Kong, well, I guess I was prepared for the worst.
Surprisingly, the room was nice – and clean. It wasn’t fancy, but it was nice enough for me.
As I unpacked, it felt different as it was the first time I didn’t have anyone to talk to… I was glad I brought my favourite teddy bear along. It made me not miss home too much.
I slowly unpacked and was glad they provided hangers so I could hang out my shirts and jackets. I didn’t have much in my luggage… How did it ever get to be 25kg! I was determined to give away as many of the books I brought as possible so I’d have room for some of the things I intended to buy!
Tomorrow will be our first day at the Hanoi University of Business and Technology. We still don’t know what we have to do, but I’m hoping everything will turn out OK.
It’s only Day zero and I’m missing home – my mum and bro, my friends, my WIFI. 13 more days to go!
posted by deb at 10:59 PM
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