Leaving Hanoi. 15/2/2020

Leaving Hanoi this time nearly broke my heart. I really love the place that much! It is noisy, filthy in some places, overcrowded and hugely over polluted. It is total chaos in an environment of calm and patience. If you weren't patient here then there would be no hope. The chaos would consume ameobiotically all your sanity. I love it, all the noise all the chaos the richness of people watching opportunities, it is a complete menu. My last days were made up of final trips to Bat Chang and afternoons whiled away at the Home 38 Cafe. Evening would see me ensconced at the Balcony Bar happily smoking joints and enjoying the nightime parades from hotel/hostel to food place and bar. I will be waiting for Lan and Ewan to finish thier work so we can eat together. Lan has been taking me to eaterys between West Lake/Tay Ho and the Old Quarter. In the vicinity of the Chu Pak lake. One night it was Duck, the next would be Banh Cuon and some stuff. The second to last night was seafoood and the last night was "snacks" in a Vietnamese style Tapas bar. If that was snacks I wonder what thier banquet is like! On my last morning I was quite sad. It was 4am, it was cold and wet outside. The street had that early morning winter in Hanoi feeling. Something out of a cult movie with misty silhouettes and smokey streets. It was very Sam Spade. Thanh was late, his driver was late getting to him. There was no problem for me as I was early by about an hour anyway. It was sad to say goodbye to Thanh but that is one of the costs of travelling. The airport stuff had yet to be tackled. Because I was early and it was early in the morning there were no huge crowds and I made it to the transit lounge without difficulty. I went to what appeared to be my gate, it said so on the monitor, on my boarding pass and on the gate so I was confident I had found my place. About 5 minutes before I was due to board everything changed. The gate now spruiked a completely new airline and a totally different destination. When I checked the board the change was there too. Where the fuck was the gate for my aircraft! A period of panic ensued with me legging it along the terminus to what I hoped was the right gate. I was so pissed off, I told the airline staff that thier airline could not organise a piss up in a brewery! I was feeling better by the time we landed a Wattey International Airport. The taxi to Tony Savins place was a day out. He lives a long way out of town in an area that appears quite isolated. The Taxi driver had no idea and had to keep stopping and asking the question. We got there in the end. Tonys house is awesome. His place is tucked away down a short dirt alleyway. Surrounded by wall and an impressive gate that would leave Donald Trumps wall green with envy. Tony and May share the space with Varsena and Simon who live in a separate but identical house. Varsena has a young son and a very small baby. Every morning early Varsena leaves with baby and boy to go to her donut shop in the suburbs. She makes donuts (delicious ones!) And sandwiches for local school children and parents. The houses are extremely comfortable, clean and well appointed. There is a plunge pool in the garden complete with spa type fittings, so you get the full massage treatment there, very decadent. I had my own room complete with air con, fan and ensuite shower and toilet. Tony and May generally rise late and go to bed even later. Tony works most afternoons till about six or seven. I was lucky enough to hire a motor scooter from Tony's landlady, a very nice lady who would occasionally bring over breakfast or a bag of weed. It took me quite a while to orientate myself so I could move about independently. I finally found the easy, non dirt way onto the main road that goes between the city centre and the "Freedom Bridge" to Thailand. From there it was straightforward. I have to say that Vientiane still does not inspire me tha way Hanoi does. It feels as if some god got a whole handful of city and just threw it splat on the map. Nothing makes sense, street signs are unintelligible and there is very little to entertain. There are a number of bars that are friendly and welcoming but if you don't want to drink beer they are a little ho hum. I spent a fair amount of time at the Highlander bar (great spot, nice landlord). I also went to the "Mekong Garage Bar" (very pretty location on the Mekong). You can get good food here and get you bike serviced at the same time. While I was there Tony bought a new car! Very expensive , very flashy. The experience highlighted the dramas in transferring money across international borders. At the last minute May noticed that Tony had ommitted one of the account numbers pandemonium ensued with frantic calls to banks and dealers all over the world. The message was to check and recheck and recheck all the numbers, with long account numbers it is very easy to make a mistake. The car was a bonus for me because Tony was able to take me to the airport to pick up my flight to Pakse and the 4 thousand Islands. Bye bye Vientiane, till next time The photos are of Tonys place and the "Cope Centre" a place where people go to get prosthetics, arms, legs etc after having them blown off by unexploded ordinance. Fucking Americans are still killing Laos today. I always go here when I am in town. I buy T shirts and try to spend money to support them. .