I wake up in the morning. It's 8:30 a.m.
Yesterday I fell asleep at 3 a.m., so I only got about five hours of sleep today.
But today is flight day. So I psych myself up, take a shower, shave, brush my teeth, and pack by separating carry-on and checked luggage.
I was actually planning to go to the restaurant Hieu recommended for breakfast.
But I'm terrible in the mornings. In the end, this is how it turns out.
Then I call a taxi to the airport.
The airport is pretty far from town—about 30 km—so it takes roughly an hour to get there.
In Vietnam there are light-blue taxis (electric cars) and gasoline cars you call with Grab, and recently the electric ones have become cheaper.
I thought this was a really good measure.
Vietnam—especially Hanoi—has ridiculously serious air pollution.
As a countermeasure, Vietnam's largest carmaker introduced electric vehicles, and now lots of EVs are running around the city.
Even in a rural town like Quy Nhon, electric cars are everywhere.
Honestly, I think the adoption rate is definitely higher than in Japan.
I headed to the airport feeling, viscerally, how different the pace of development is.
At the airport I had pho for breakfast.
It was really tasty. Pho is always delicious no matter where you have it.
I also drink coconut water to replenish minerals.
Then I checked in and passed security.
To my surprise, Quy Nhon Phu Cat Airport even has a lounge.
So I used my Priority Pass and went into the lounge.
When I entered I was the only one there.
A Vietnamese person came later, so there were only two of us in total.
But the buffet was surprisingly abundant, with many kinds of dishes.
However, perhaps because quantities were heavily limited, only six slices of fruit were laid out from the start, and they'd replenish them when they ran out.
Overall it felt like time stood still; I got the sense this airport hardly sees many people.
I wasn't extremely hungry, but I took a little bit of yogurt, water, rice, fish, noodles, sweet potato, and so on and ate them.
Pretty good.
I ate thinking, I hope I don't get food poisoning.
Before I knew it, it was boarding time.
This time it was my favorite Vietnamese airline, so I was in a pretty good mood.
It's the airline I used when I first came to Vietnam two years ago, and the tapioca tea they served then was the best I've ever had.
Also, the cabin smelled great and the seats are spacious.
The crew are all good-looking and attentive.
I stood in the boarding line, remembering all that.
Everyone around me was Vietnamese and it was really chaotic.
Usually people are so relaxed and even motorcycle speeds are slow, so I wonder why only at times like this they line up in a single file and push each other.
Still, I watched it with amusement, thinking this is just the Vietnam vibe.
Meanwhile, I looked at my ticket and thought.
Maybe I should go back from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City again.
However, the flight a week later was quite expensive.
Well, I thought, it can't be helped.
It was time to board, and I boarded without incident.
My seat was a window seat at the very back, but someone was already sitting there and asked me if I could swap.
So I sat in the seat one row forward.
To be honest, any window seat is fine with me.
And finally, off into the sky.
The flight was one hour and thirty minutes.
There were many clouds today and quite a bit of turbulence.
There was lots of lateral and vertical shaking—almost like a roller coaster.
I grinned, listened to music, and even enjoyed the shaking.
The in-flight meal was complimentary: water and a banh mi.
The banh mi bread was crispy and surprisingly delicious.
With that, we arrived in Hanoi.
It's been a while since I was in Hanoi.
Hanoi was the first city I visited on my Southeast Asia trip.
So it holds a special place in my heart.
After arrival I took a taxi to the hostel.
I thought about taking the bus, but I was really tired and decided I couldn't do it today.
Noi Bai International Airport is far from the city too—about 23 km.
While crossing a bridge, the scene from two years ago came flooding back.
The feelings back then, the excitement.
So nostalgic.
I arrived at the hostel and checked in safely.
Everyone around was Western, and the vibe from when I was in the Philippines returned all at once.
But it's okay.
I've properly upgraded myself since then.
After freshening up a bit, I went to a cafe.
I had some urgent work to deal with, so I took care of it.
When you're traveling, there are times you think, 'Work again?'
But I mustn't forget how grateful I am to have work.
And so, after staying at the cafe for about three hours, I went for dinner.
