I arrived in Hanoi on Saturday afternoon around 1pm. Even
though I purchased my Visa online, I still had a good long wait at the airport
before I was cleared to enter the country. This--of course--after I had waited
in the wrong line for a good thirty minutes. Once cleared, I made my way to
baggage claim where I found a young man waiting for me with a sign that read
LINDSAY BAILEY. He drove me to the Golden Silk Hotel, right in the heart of
downtown Hanoi.
One of the sights I found most intriguing upon arriving in Hanoi
were the pop-up haircut stalls. On one street that we drove down, every 5
meters or so, there was a chair and a barber. A mirror hung squarely on the
wall or gate in front of the chair. Barbers were seen giving straight razor
shaves and haircuts. Hair puddling up around their chair legs. These barbers
had it organized so well that if the weather hinted at rain, they could
basically fold everything up into a little case, grab the mirror and go. (Sadly I don't have any photos of this, but I do have a drawing which will be posted at a later date.)
Once I got to my hotel, I realized just how many scooters
were around me. Scooters, mopeds, motorbikes. Crossing the street was like
playing Frogger. Only I was the frog, trying not to get hit. The trick--I
realized--was to stay confident in your stride and just walk. The people on their bikes will look out for
you. The traffic and driving is incredible, though, and should be experienced
firsthand. There is no one way to do things, so people turn right from left
lanes, back up in intersections, and pull out into oncoming traffic. I find it
exciting and boisterous! But apparently close to 30 people die a day in Hanoi
due to traffic accidents . . .
Once I got inside of my hotel, I checked-in and was
immediately swept up to the 11th floor where I had previously booked a half-day
of spa treatments: a facial, a massage, a sugar/salt scrub, and a pedicure. By
the time I got back to my room, it was time for me to go to bed and get ready
for my big bike ride tomorrow. No
dinner, no replenishing of fluids after releasing all of my toxins. Foreshadowing.
I ended up waking up around 5:30am. This proved to be a great
idea because I had no clue when my bike guide was coming to pick me up. So I
packed and prepared everything: dividing up what I was going to take with me
into my backpack and what I was going to leave with hotel in my suitcase. I got
a call at 7:58am that my guide, Tony, was here and it was time to go. No
breakfast, no water. Foreshadowing.
Once in the van that was waiting for me outside, I was
introduced to two fabulous guys: Jeremy and Jeff. They were friends from high
school, meeting up for a quick jaunt in Hanoi. Jeremy flew in from India and
was only riding with us until lunchtime. Jeff was from North Carolina and joining
me on the entire adventure.
Our goal was to ride 60k before lunch. The ride was easy,
flat. We had to traverse through traffic a few times, but for most of the ride
we were just on a cement path that went through miles and miles of pastureland:
cows and water buffalo sharing the path with us. It was a new and exploratory
way for me to see a country. I quite liked it!
At about the 45k mark, my body gave up. It was blisteringly
hot outside, easily over 100 degrees. Not a cloud in the sky, the sun was
beating down on us. My head was pounding: seemingly beating to the sound of
"no water, no food, no water, no food". Then my stomach started getting
really nauseous. I got off of my bike and began to feel slightly delirious. I
started walking around and couldn't shake how I was feeling. Tony and Jeff had traveled
ahead, but Jeremy got off of his bike and started walking with me. We began
looking for shade for me to sit under, but there was none. Just miles and miles
of green pasture. This was it, I kept thinking. This was how I was going to go: in
Vietnam, walking along a path. Nothing exciting, just a heat stroke. No way, man!! Hells no!
A couple of ladies had ridden past us on a scooter, they got
off of their scooter, climbed up to the road and tried to help. But neither of
us spoke the same language. So they squeezed our tires a few times and when I
pointed to my stomach, they just kind of looked blankly at us. A guy rode by on
his motorcycle and Jeremy tried to convince him to give me a ride. When that
didn't work out, Jeremy called Jeff and asked them to bring around the van.
Ugh, I felt awful. Physically I thought I was going to die. But I also felt bad
because I was now holding up these two great guys during their vacation time. Especially
Jeremy because he flew all of the way from India to see Jeff for less than 24
hours, of which he was now spending time making sure I didn't die in Vietnam. Goodness!
You could tell from the draining color in my skin that I was about to go down,
so it was a good thing that we stopped.
I started drinking water like a fiend once I hopped in the
van. Tony took us to this tourist joint to eat. I sufficiently replenished my
fluids by sucking down a giant coconut water. I followed that up with several
more bottles of water and some not-so-tasty morsels of Chinese food. Jeremy
took off to the airport, and it was now time for Jeff and I to begin the second
leg of our adventure . . .
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