Hanoi first impression
I'm sitting in the lobby of the Melia Hotel Hanoi
waiting for some snafu with my registration to be corrected. A month in India
has taught me some patience, so rather than fret I'm sitting down to put down
some initial thoughts about Hanoi and Vietnam.
My thoughts begin back in Singapore. I was a
little rattled getting on my Singapore Air flight. I had almost four hours to
kill, so I was taking my time checking out the airport. Each wing of the
terminal has its own "transfer" area where you can get your boarding pass for
the next leg of your flight. I went to this waiting area immediately since in
Trivandrum I did not receive a boarding pass for the Singapore-Hanoi leg of my
trip. There's a desk where you receive a number, and then you wait for your
number to appear on a digital reader board, before approaching the counter to
get your boarding pass. The numbers were only at 408 and I had been given 421,
so I browsed some nearby shops. After 15 minutes or so the numbers were only at
411, so I decided I'd get my boarding pass later.
I did a pretty good job killing time, because when I finally headed back to the transfer area there was less than an hour before my flight. A woman was complaining loudly about how long she had been waiting, so I decided I would just go to the gate to get my boarding pass. At the gate, it turns out, boarding passes are not distributed. So I had to rush all the way back to the transfer area and explain that I was on a flight that was leaving shortly. I was nice about it, and so the woman at the desk took me to the front of one of the lines. I got on the flight in plenty of time. Then, as this is the way things go, the plan was delayed for almost an hour.
The wait on the plane flew by. Even the coach class seats on Singapore Air were spacious, and I had no one in the seat next to me. SO I spread out with my complimentary copy of the FInancial Times and before I knew it we were off. The flight was quiet. When we landed, everyone was quite calm and civil. I make a point of this only to contrast the experience with our arrival in India. That's the long way of getting to the point that my first impression of Vietnam is that people are quiet, calm, and kind.
My second dilemma had to do with my visa. After all the trouble of sending my passport to Delhi and all the subsequent hiccups in the process of getting the visa, it turns out the visa was dated for 30 December to 14 January. My return flight is 17 January, so I was worried at passport control the officer would notice my return date and the discrepancy with the visa. Not only did he not notice, but when I tried to ask him how to apply for an extension, he waved me on (not because he was saying "don't worry about it," but because he couldn't understand what I was asking than because he was saying. I'll deal with that tomorrow.
The next dilemma had to do with finding the travel service that the conference organizers set up to bring conference delegates to the hotel. When I finally found the driver, my name was not on his list. Luckily there was room on the bus. But now I'm waiting to find out why my room wasn't reserved. I have an email confirming that I paid, but the registration desk wants to check with the conference organizers. So, here I wait.
The drive from the airport was interesting. In many ways, Vietnam reminds me of India. Sure, the architecture is different, and as I mentioned the people are different, but there are similarities. One is that the roads are full of motorbikes and bicycles, though the roads themselves are more likely to have curbs or at least discernible edges. Another is that, like India, much of life seems to take place right on the street. Shops are tiny and goods spill out onto the street. Now I'm in my room on the 21st floor (they still couldn't find my reservation but gave me a room and said they'd figure it out), and when I look out the window there is little apparent order or organization to the city (from a macro level...like I said, the streets themselves have a little more order). The French Quarter supposedly has wide boulevards in more of a grid-like pattern, but I'm looking at the old Quarter and there are modern-looking high rises amidst crumbling old buildings. It's amazing what you get when you have no building or zoning ordinances.
These are all superficial observations. I'm not sure how much of this conference I will participate in as I'd like to see more of the city, and possibly go down to the former DMZ to see some of the villages that were bombed to destruction and doused with Agent Orange. Here're a couple pictures not unlike what you'd see in India:
I did a pretty good job killing time, because when I finally headed back to the transfer area there was less than an hour before my flight. A woman was complaining loudly about how long she had been waiting, so I decided I would just go to the gate to get my boarding pass. At the gate, it turns out, boarding passes are not distributed. So I had to rush all the way back to the transfer area and explain that I was on a flight that was leaving shortly. I was nice about it, and so the woman at the desk took me to the front of one of the lines. I got on the flight in plenty of time. Then, as this is the way things go, the plan was delayed for almost an hour.
The wait on the plane flew by. Even the coach class seats on Singapore Air were spacious, and I had no one in the seat next to me. SO I spread out with my complimentary copy of the FInancial Times and before I knew it we were off. The flight was quiet. When we landed, everyone was quite calm and civil. I make a point of this only to contrast the experience with our arrival in India. That's the long way of getting to the point that my first impression of Vietnam is that people are quiet, calm, and kind.
My second dilemma had to do with my visa. After all the trouble of sending my passport to Delhi and all the subsequent hiccups in the process of getting the visa, it turns out the visa was dated for 30 December to 14 January. My return flight is 17 January, so I was worried at passport control the officer would notice my return date and the discrepancy with the visa. Not only did he not notice, but when I tried to ask him how to apply for an extension, he waved me on (not because he was saying "don't worry about it," but because he couldn't understand what I was asking than because he was saying. I'll deal with that tomorrow.
The next dilemma had to do with finding the travel service that the conference organizers set up to bring conference delegates to the hotel. When I finally found the driver, my name was not on his list. Luckily there was room on the bus. But now I'm waiting to find out why my room wasn't reserved. I have an email confirming that I paid, but the registration desk wants to check with the conference organizers. So, here I wait.
The drive from the airport was interesting. In many ways, Vietnam reminds me of India. Sure, the architecture is different, and as I mentioned the people are different, but there are similarities. One is that the roads are full of motorbikes and bicycles, though the roads themselves are more likely to have curbs or at least discernible edges. Another is that, like India, much of life seems to take place right on the street. Shops are tiny and goods spill out onto the street. Now I'm in my room on the 21st floor (they still couldn't find my reservation but gave me a room and said they'd figure it out), and when I look out the window there is little apparent order or organization to the city (from a macro level...like I said, the streets themselves have a little more order). The French Quarter supposedly has wide boulevards in more of a grid-like pattern, but I'm looking at the old Quarter and there are modern-looking high rises amidst crumbling old buildings. It's amazing what you get when you have no building or zoning ordinances.
These are all superficial observations. I'm not sure how much of this conference I will participate in as I'd like to see more of the city, and possibly go down to the former DMZ to see some of the villages that were bombed to destruction and doused with Agent Orange. Here're a couple pictures not unlike what you'd see in India:
Posted: Sun - January 8, 2006 at 01:56 AM
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The Zavelogue chronicles the travels and travails of Stephen, Marion, Claire and Luc during our six months in India on a Fulbright.
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Published On: Jul 15, 2006 12:54 AM
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Published On: Jul 15, 2006 12:54 AM