Leaving again. UIH to SGN

I've set my alarm for 4:30 but I'm wide awake because of the LOUD banging noises the storm creates with the not perfectly fitted windows and doors.  And I already had stuffed tea bags in the cracks, LOL.

In about 3 hours I'm supposed to sit in a plane that is supposed to take off in this wind.  And yes, there is a certain level of wariness about that.  

When I carefully sneak into the lobby at 6:00, snoring from the little bench informs me that Mo is still sleeping on the bench.  He lives right across the street; why is he sleeping here?  I retreat to my room again.

My whole body tells me that it does NOT want to leave today.   I'm happy here.  Ah well, no point whining.  I'll be back soon enough ;-)

I'm taking a real taxi today instead of the hotel man's friend's car, so when I wake up at Phu Cat Airport almost one hour later the meter reads 540k VND instead of the 200k I paid last time.   Still not bad for a 40 minute taxi ride.

The MADNESS is starting here as well.  A Porsche Panamera.  
Add the red pants and it all screams:
LOOK AT ME !

Just when I'm leaving: Blue Sky at the horizon

 I see as the airline clerk types in my various FIRST and MIDDLE names in an attempt to find my booking in her computer.  Then she asks for my ticket.  I don't have one and point to the area of my passport where my LAST name is printed without an Umlaut.  Bingo, she finds my booking.  Viets seem to ALWAYS use my middle names for train tickets and the like.  I am relieved when the weight of my carry-on and only luggage rings in at 7.1 kg.  I'm allowed 7.0 kg on this CAD$ 39 flight but complaining about 100 grams is not an issue here.

Security is a breeze; I even get to keep my half-empty 200 ml (!!!!) container of Nivea.  

Yes, I'm sad that I have to leave No-Nonsense land tomorrow. 

 Seat Karma is with me again:   Oh NO!  There is NO seat in front of me, LOL

I pretty much sleep through the entire flight and while waiting for deplaning, I hear THIS SONG repeatedly.  It was written by an American woman of Viet heritage about her hopes of one day setting foot on the never-seen homeland but it hits a nerve with me as well.   
Because setting that first foot on Vietnamese soil has changed my life.

Timing is fabulous today.  No 152 bus is waiting so I have plenty of time to get myself a Banh Mi Cha Lua in the parkade.   

The bus arrives when I have eaten about 1/3 or it.


The 152 bus stop,which is located RIGHT NEXT to the taxi line-up, displays its usual MADNESS.  The bus driver is SHOUTING at Vietnamese that the price is only 5000 Dong and is pointing to his bus to prevent his country folk from spending more than 100,000 Dong for the same trip in a taxi.  And the beauty:  The bus is faster !

At Giang Son Hotel I have to wait for check-in because the other guests just left.  Then the surprises start.  They front-lined my room for cleaning because it is ready in half the advertised time.  Then she hands me a WATER KETTLE  (remember I bought one in November and had left it here until 3 weeks ago). This guest house does NOT have spare water kettles for guests but they got one for me.  

Playing the Hello Vietnam song, having such good people experiences, all on the day before I have to leave lets me experience homesickness even before I have left, LOL.

The first Vape Shop I visit in the hope of acquiring an e-cigarette for my long flights tomorrow is not what it promised online.  Just a bunch of Viets emitting dense vapour out of every visible orifice but NO actual devices.  At least I get some quyt on the way back to the hotel to research the next target store.

The next Vape store not only has an ADORABLE puppy (might taste yummy when he is older, LOL) but also a stylish slim vape stick for 700k.  That will do nicely for the plane !

A trip to the CoopMart for some cheese (so rare here), ruou vang do (I picked the wrong bottle), a cork screw (the hotel lost its corkscrew to a guest and leaving it here is a nice Thank You for the water kettle, me thinks) and other little things forces me to navigate the crazy streets again.   

And I realize:  I LOVE crossing those seemingly impossible to cross intersections, LOL.