The months of waiting allowed me to prepare. And prepare I did. Points of interest were added to my map. Travelling solo, so I need to be self sufficient. Better get a replacement Garmin to replace the one I lost. And digital maps. And a battery pack in case my phone runs out. And spare batteries for the Garmin. And a charger for them. And my tablet. And scans of old US maps from the early 70's. And a compass. And a whistle. The Vietnamese government has good maps of the whole country, but they're not on general sale and can't be bought without a valid justification. Tôi muốn đi bộ is probably not going to cut it. Water purification tablets. A wind-up torch. In retrospect, maybe two years of hunkering in my bunker away from the pandemic had hit my travelling confidence more than I knew. All made sense to me at the time as I emerged blinking into the sunlight.
Finally, flight day approached. I had my E-Visa in plenty of time and had checked and rechecked that everything was correct. My walking pack was about 6kg and perfectly good as hand baggage everywhere. I also had 20kg or so of gifts in kind for Blue Dragon, an outfit that is very close to my heart. "I can drop you at a train station on my way to work," said my ever patient wife. "That's perfect," I replied. We both travel solo. She looks after Africa, I do what I can for Vietnam. Dropped at the station, train across the iconic Forth Rail Bridge. Last minute shopping in Edinburgh then tram to the airport. Looks like this is happening. I still have a feeling of unease about travelling. Am I ready for this? Is Vietnam ready for this? Is it all going to be masks and distancing and distrust? Not sure I can handle that.
Many hours later, Turkish Airlines disgorges us at Nội Bài. Through immigration in 5 minutes, I wait an hour for my bag. Fortunately customs took no interest in my 20kg of Lego etc. and I was soon out waiting for the #86 bus with my Viettel SIM installed and working. 45,000 đồng these days. Few are wearing masks. Familiar landmarks go past until the traffic slows to a crawl in town. Crammed into the bus, I chat to the charming young lady next to me. She has good English. Her boyfriend doesn't. I get the impression that they've maybe quarrelled over some trivial matter as she all but flirts with someone she should be calling ông, leaving the boyfriend maybe just a little in the cold. Traffic is slow and we chat about family. We always chat about family in Vietnam. We get on to hair colour - one of my sons is ginger. I don't know where she learned her English, but in a perfect accent, she asked, "Do the drapes match the curtains?" I have some phrases in Vietnamese that I can rarely use, but I'm not sure that I need to learn the Vietnamese for that. They're not staying in Hanoi tonight, so we can't do dinner. I get off at my stop and I think that whatever the excluded boyfriend's transgression was, he had been punished enough. As I walk to my hotel, I don't worry about a thing, cause every little thing gonna be all right. It's not going to be masks and distancing and distrust. I'm ready for this. Vietnam is ready for me.
Checked in, showered and off to Namaste Hanoi for dinner with Diệp one of my longest standing friends in Vietnam. So good to see her again. So good to be back in Hanoi. She has a copy of that book I got her to buy for me when it came out. Two years ago. I'd all but forgotten. Pictures from days gone by. Đông Dương Xinh Đẹp Và Kỳ Vĩ - Indo-chine Pittoresque & Monumentale Reprint of the 1909 edition.
Food is excellent. She's busy with work and won't be able join me on my trek. I'm not holiday compatible with many people, but Diệp is always the perfect companion. Solo is fine by me, and as it turned out, solo was perfect. As perfect as perfect can be.
On to Part 3
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