Trip to Hanoi

Trip to Hanoi - eBdesk Mission 6 May 2007

I wrote down the details of my journey to Hanoi in my notebook. More to my use later if I ever visit Hanoi again, or for those who want to go Hanoi.

In Indonesia:
1. Went to Soekarno-Hatta airport in Cengkareng, using XTrans at 02.00 (yes, in the morning) at the cost of Rp.100.000,-. It was the price at that time, but it's already Rp.80.000,- for the same route now. Lucky this service was available. The one with Cipaganti, reserved by the office, came too early to my area while I was still on my way home (at 1 o'clock in the morning, from the office, if I'm not very much mistaken).

2. Arrived at 04.00 (amazing 2 hours from Bandung) at terminal D & E in Cengkareng. I've got my Economy Class ticket of Singapore Airlines in hand.

3. Checked in at Desk 4, delivering my passport, printed-online ticket, and my luggage. Paid Rp.100.000,- for the airport tax and received 2 boarding-passes: Cengkareng to Changi, and Changi to Hanoi (forget what its airport name is).

4. Paid the fiscal of Rp.1.000.000,- on behalf of eBdesk Technology and delivered my passport & boarding pass. Got a payment receipt in return. Kept it for Teh Enung later

5. Caught glimpse of a noticement, all LAG (Liquid And Gas? I forgot ) going to be brought in cabin must be in containers containing not more than 100ml and they should be placed in a transparent plastic bag(got it from the security officer). More than that amount is prohibited to be brought into the cabin.

6. Got my boarding pass checked for fiscal payment before entering the immigration area.

7. Checking of passport, departure & arrival card, and boarding pass
8. Went on toward the boarding gate.
9. Checking of hand carry bag for LAG before entering the boarding room.
10. Boarding.

In Singapore:
1. Continued to the transit gate
2. Check In
3. Waiting in the boarding room and filling in the forms
4. Boarding

In Vietnam:
1. Headed to Immigration Area
2. Gathered my luggage

3. Met some people from Indonesia who are coming to Hanoi for official meetings. From IPB, if I'm not mistaken.

4. Bought local currency at the money changer in the airport. There were some of them, compared their rate. Conversed my $30 with the rate $1= VND 16.051 (VND=Vietnam Dong). It's suggested that we keep sufficient amount of Dong and more amount of dollar in hand. It is not easy to convert Dong to Dollar.

5. Ordered a taxi to the hotel. They charged $12. Don't mistake locals pronunciation of 'twelve' to 'ten'. That's what I did I paid $10 + VND30.000, as the driver did not have change for another $10.

6. Arrived at the hotel:
ASEAN International Hotel
Address: 6-8 Chua Boc St., Dong Da Dist., Hanoi
Telp: +84-4-8529110, +84-4-8529108
Fax: +84-4-8529111

The rate was $60 nett/day.

I'm getting tired of writing details, hehehe

So, I stayed at this ASEAN Hotel. It was near the HTMobile office, the client I had to visit. I bought a local SIM Card. I thought it would be much cheaper to communicate to Indonesia based on the experience once I was assigned to a client in Malaysia. It turned out to be not so much cheaper. Around VND4000 or Rp.2300 per sms. Well, at least I could receive a call (not able to get a call using ProXL internationally).

I was once wondering what day that day was. As I was entering the lift, I suddenly realize it was on the floormat. The name of the day I mean. There was 'Wednesday' written on the floormat. Neat!

Using taxi in Hanoi is somewhat affordable. The fare is comparable to a Blue Bird in Indonesia, I guess. The prices of daily goods are also pretty much like those in Indonesia, if not cheaper.

If you see outside the hotel, you wouldn't miss a great deal of motorcycles and bikes on the road. Yea, it seems that their main transportation are those vehicles. You might also see many motorcycles carry not only 2, but 3 people. I could say the Hanoi people are pretty reckless on driving. See them on a crossroad and you'll understand what I'm saying. I also once saw this person on a bike took his time indifferently on the road. It would not be so interesting to me if a bus was not behind it, couldn't go faster than the bike. On my last day, on the way to the airport, my taxi was terserempet-serempet and kejeduk-kejeduk by several motorcycle, but the driver seemed to be OK with it, surprisingly. Even more shocking, there were these two car, one after another. I didn't know why, but the last car bumped into the one in front of it. Both drivers stopped and got out. In Jakarta, or Pekanbaru, or Bandung, you would see both checking their own car, arguing, or even instantly start a fight. But these two only checked their own car, shook hand, and left

I noticed that the people were still clinging to old tradition. While I was strolling along the street, I saw families who own a restaurant, or a shop attached to their house (like ruko, that's how I could see them) were circling their tables for a dinner together. Aww, that's a sweet sight. Or maybe it was because I was strolling alone far away from home? Hehehe..

The appearance of the city is like an old area in Pekanbaru, my home town, or let's say most of the older area in developing city in Indonesia. I couldn't hold my laugh when I saw an advertisement neonbox showing "Salonpas Gel"! There, in Hanoi.. Now, that made me feel like home, really. Heahahaha...

Owh, one more thing. I think people's recklesness in driving are also supported by a non condusive driving environtment. See the following figure.

It is a two way street with a blockade along the center of the street. With such long blockade along the street, people will find it easier to reach a place by taking a cross they are not allowed to. I don't know why they build such long blockade and not some shorter ones to allow more sensible U turns.

Unfortunately, I could not visit some lakes that is well known for their beauty. No time for shopping too. This one's a tough mission . Well, maybe next time (when precisely, Andy? )