August 5, 2006 - Korea to Hanoi, Vietnam

We boarded our flight at 830pm, it is almost a 4 1/2 hour flight. On all our previous flights we were able to rest but this flight was filled with 2 big school groups returning from Hawaii. When we finally landed it was 1045pm at night. We had no problem at all passing through immigration, even though the officer waiting on us thought my Mom and I was twins. My Mom and I just kept smiling and nodding through the process. We breezed through Customs and out into the hot, muggy Vietnam airport we went. We found the ticket counter so we could buy the tickets from Vietnam airlines for our flight the next morning to Ho Chi Minh City. When we had checked earlier in the week, we were told that their was a transit hotel there but once we arrived we found out that there wasn't one. So my Mom and I were going to try and just stay the night at the airport. But we soon found out from the Military Guard they wouldn't allow it. We then took the only choice we had, to head outside, try and catch a taxi and head to the only hotel address I had. It took us over 2 1/2 hours to finally get a taxi to take us the 45 minute trip into Hanoi. Traveling that late last night to the hotel showed us a side that most tourist or visitors don't see because they aren't out there at 2am. It was a real eye opening experience. We arrived at the hotel address I had, the gates was locked and it was pitch black outside. Nothing like in most countires were someone is at the reception desk 24-7. Finally the gate keeper woke up and let us in, before we could turn back around the taxi driver was gone. The gate keeper didn't speak any english so he called to someone who did. Where she proceeds to tell me they have no rooms and that we need to walk to the next hotel and see if they have space for us. Let me just point out again, it is 2am in the morning, we have no idea where we are, we have no map, our taxi driver left us, we have all our heavy luggage and we are hot and exhausted. I stood there on the verge of having a huge breakdown, just bawling my eyes out. Trying not to let on to Mom how frazzled I am, I calmly tell her that there is no room and we have to walk out the gate into the street and find ourself a hotel in the middle of nowhere. Then the Gate Keeper walked up to us and all he said was "come". So what else could we do. He grabbed both Mom and I's heavy baggage (which was bigger than him) and started walking up the street with us. The next hotel we came too he explained our situation and they had an open room. The lady took our passports and gave us a key. So we headed to the elevator and to our room. It was actually very nice accomdations but the air conditioner didn't work and there was no fan. We were both so exhausted we feel asleep for a short time. But we had to be back up by 445am so we could take a taxi back to the airport. I joked later with Mom that all I did was pay for our shower we took. When we got up in the morning, August 5th, they called us a taxi so we could head back to the airport to catch our flight to Ho Chi Minh City. So everyone relax, Mom and I are capable of taking care of ourselves or at least look pitaful enough for someone to take mercy on us. Either way, it worked.