I could have slept better. There’s some nerves from the upcoming flights, & Vietnam in general, plus the headache of the last few days kept coming back.
I’d done most of the packing last night, leaving myself without much to do but throw the last few things in my bag & make sure I hadn’t forgotten anything. That’s where the photo gallery of locker, secure box in capsule, & the capsule itself comes in.
That said, it wasn’t without its snags; A “flight delayed” email that arrived while I was showering had me worried for a bit, but it’s only by a few hours, and it’s the second flight, so … Could be worse.
There’s not much to say about the rest of the morning. Packed up, returned my key card, and had a coffee & a few biscuits in the common area before heading out to get the metro to the airport.
Check in got confusing for a while. I’d printed my Vietnam Visa, but forgot to print the bus ticket leaving Vietnam as well, so had to show them on my phone. I’d thought that’d be it, but then they were asking when I was leaving ‘this country’, by which I thought they meant Vietnam, but they actually meant Singapore. Once I understood the question properly, all was well.
They had an automatic passport scan, plus a bag scan, to get through to airside at Singapore, but then another “empty your pockets, remove electronics, are you wearing a belt” scan to get to the gate, which I wasn’t expecting.
The first flight was a smidge bumpy, but did have a nice airline meal; Best airline tiny salad I’ve ever had, so well done Thai Airways.
Another pockets/electronics/belt scan at Bangkok to get into the departures area again.
I’m used to spotting global brands around the world, but spotting one I’d thought was New Zealand only was an odd moment.
Five hours in an airport is a long time to kill when you’re failing to control your anxiety about the upcoming trip, but I managed to not completely lose my mind. Finished a couple of books (one admittedly on the plane from Singapore) and the other while trying to chill near Gate C2A.
Boarding was weird.
They called people up in groups, but then seemed to give up on calling groups after the first few, so everyone just joined the end of the line. Once through, everybody went downstairs, out onto the tarmac, and onto a waiting bus, which then drove around to what I think was another part of the same terminal building, where we all got off the bus again and walked up some mobile stairs to the plane. I don’t know what happened to cause the delay in the flight, but whatever it is, it seems like it really messed things up.
Bangkok from the air at a weird angle.
Waited in a long-ass line for immigration in Hanoi, and it was nice to see that the officials were just being regular folks, talking to each other & making jokes from time to time. Amusingly, the Thai Airways people at Singapore paid way more attention to my travel plans than the Vietnamese Border Official, who did something to my passport, stamped it, & handed it back; No questions about how I was intending to leave the country, though it’s possible that was provided by the airline?
I was very nervous about getting a taxi to the hotel, though it turns out the taxi folks aren’t as pushy as I’d dreaded. Probably different if it’s not late at night and you don’t look like me. I used a recommended ride app which worked pretty well once I figured out how it wanted me to take a selfie, and the driver took me right to the hotel, so mission accomplished.
The hotel late check-in system looks to be that someone sleeps in the lobby, so I felt a little bad for turning up at some time after 11 p.m. It’s an old building, maintained well it seems, with a central staircase that winds up through the levels, and has a few rooms per floor.
There is not much outside of the balcony, just the road and then the side of an expressway; it was probably a nicer view before the expressway got there.
