3:00 in the middle of the night. I couldn't sleep at all.
On a whim I opened Trip.com and found a missed call. I wondered what it was, checked the flight, and the departure time was 6:00 in the morning.
I thought, 'What?'.
At first I thought maybe I should just cancel, or go the next day, and considered a lot of things. But thinking about it felt like a hassle, so I decided to prepare right then. I got up immediately and packed my bags.
This, I thought, is what 'adventure' really is.
It was early morning so the door was locked. Sorry to bother him, but I woke the guide, had him unlock it, and went outside. The airport was about 1.3 km away. I decided to walk.
I walked quickly toward the airport while filming with my camera. Half excited, half angry, half tired. All of that was part of the adventure.
Even though it was 3:30 a.m., there were so many cars and motorbikes I couldn't cross the road. I asked a nearby motorbike taxi guy, 'Can I walk to the airport?'.
He didn't understand English, but with gestures he indicated, 'It's okay, that way.' I somehow understood, kept walking, and arrived at the airport safely.
I went to the VietJet Air check-in counter. There were a lot of people, but on the other side there was a line with only two people. I figured it was a hidden gem and got in line, and was able to check in quickly.
After getting my ticket and heading to the gate, the display said 8:00.
I thought, 'Huh? Wasn't it 6:00?' It turned out it had been delayed.
And looking closer, the departure time on the previous day and the day before that had been 5:50. It was completely my failure to check.
Oh well, nothing I could do. Four hours of waiting. I was sleep-deprived and low on energy. Then I noticed there was a lounge I could access with Priority Pass.
I went into the lounge and ate pho, tried various Vietnamese dishes little by little, and ate a banana. It was a blessing in disguise.
I truly felt glad I didn't sleep and came here. Thinking about that, I'm writing this diary now and waiting for my flight.
After that I did Duolingo, watched world news on YouTube, thought about how I wanted to structure my documentary, and watched videos that might be helpful.
But gradually I got sleepier and sleepier. My nose was so clogged—no runny nose, but my sinuses were inflamed making it hard to breathe.
I stayed in the lounge for about three hours in that condition.
Finally boarding time arrived; I left the lounge and headed to gate 12.
For now I got on the plane. I checked ChatGPT and it said that with sinusitis you can get severe pain during takeoff and landing, so it's good to keep swallowing saliva.
When we actually took off it hurt more than I imagined. The pressure change made my head feel like it would split. I endured it through the one-hour flight.
It was the toughest flight experience I've ever had.
After landing I fought sleep while collecting my luggage and used a taxi app to call a car. It was 220,000 dong to the city center, about 1,100 yen. Even though it was 28 km, I thought that price was cheap.
I slept most of the trip, but I naturally woke up the moment we neared arrival.
I checked into the hotel and immediately went to bed.
When I realized it was 7 p.m. I had slept for about seven hours.
After that I went to a nearby ramen shop. Quy Nhon has an astonishing number of Japanese restaurants. There were many options, but I was craving ramen, and since it had a 5.0 rating I chose it.
When I got to the shop and pulled the door, the noren fell down. I panicked a bit, but a nearby young man quickly helped. Apparently you should push, not pull.
I thought there was a Japanese-mindedness here too. The act of pulling is like not intruding on someone else—a choice to step back. I found myself thinking about that kind of psychology.
I ordered a ramen and fried rice set, topped with nori and wood ear mushrooms. I also ordered guava juice.
The staff kept a bit of distance—I'm not sure if they were uncomfortable with me or with foreigners in general—but they weren't very friendly. Still, the ramen was really delicious, a flavor that made me want to drink every drop of the soup.
The quality was completely different from the ramen I had in the Philippines. As expected of Vietnam, I thought.
When the fried rice didn't come for a while I asked, and they said they were just making it. In Japan dishes often come at the same time, so I felt this was another cultural difference.
Right after eating I returned to the hotel and went to a highly-rated nearby pharmacy. The smiling woman from the Google Maps photo was there.
When I showed the translated text she said OK and carefully explained while using Google Translate. She was very friendly, even saying Hi to the camera.
She prescribed antihistamines, saline solution, nasal steroid, oral steroid (MEDROL), the antibiotic Augmentin, and even herbal medicine.
She was very energetic and smiling, a reassuring person.
Back at the hotel, after consulting ChatGPT, I decided to take the clarithromycin and steroids I bought yesterday.
The steroids said they suppress the immune system, and to be honest I was scared. I took them and tried to sleep, but mid-way a sense of anxiety surfaced and I couldn't calm down.
But I accepted it thinking it's to cure the illness. I have to take the antibiotic for five days. For now, I'll try my best.
Still, if I can recover with natural immunity that's best. Taking medicine inevitably brings my mood down a bit.
And with all that, I fell asleep.
The air conditioning was working well, yet I was sweating a lot in bed.
Surely my hormones and autonomic nervous system are being adjusted right now. Thinking that, I fell asleep.
