Last night

We could not end the trip without an adventure- and this blog only recounts a few of them as it just takes so darn long to type. When is the last time you took 2 flights that both left early in a no hassle fashion? After checking in at the airport we went back to town for a quick bite at Buddy's , the best wifi cafe and ice cream hangout in Duong Dong. We then walked back to the airport. Both the flight from Phu Quoc and the connection from HCMC left a bit early- it was truly peaceful (see photo of deserted entrance to airport)in the airports (is this the new Zen Juliet?). We did have 2 small canisters of CO2 (3inch by 3/4 inch diameter) that were part of a tire repair kit that were confiscated at security. Also- can you imagine an airport with fresh fruit for sale (also photo) More Piers karma as our seat mate was the Regional General Manager for Intercontinental Hotels for Vietnam, Los, Cambodia and Thailand, a charming Scottish gentleman Fergus Stewart. He was most informative about his career in the hotel industry and kindly suggested Piers contact him for his next internship at Ecole Hoteliere Lausanne. On arrival in Hanoi we immediately saw a fellow with a sign from our hotel (Hanoi Essence- the debut property of a new boutique of hotels being opened by the Elegance chain) and Piers's name. We had not been in the cab but 10 minutes (the journey is about 1 hour) when we were flagged down by the Police (it was around 8pm). The driver got our what we assumed was his registration or license from the glove box and put a 200,000vnd note inside (around $10) and got out of the car to talk to the officer. After a few minutes he was back in the car and made quite a few phone calls on 2 separate mobile phones. He was in and out of the car and took another 100,000 note, more phone calls. We tried to offer to help as our experience being stopped on the motorcycle has been that they really don't want to mess with foreigners. The driver seemed to gesticulate that he did not want us to
get out of the car and help. After 30 minutes I told Piers that I was going to wait 5 more minutes and then get out of the car. We did not know if the policy thought we were friends of the driver - it was a regular car- not a specific taxi cab. Almost right when I was going to get out, the driver got in the car. He had what piers said looked like a whole lot of tickets. Anyhow- we have no idea what it was all about- whether he did not have a current license or what. Needless to say we eventually arrived in one piece at the hotel. We were given a nice upgrade due to Piers's connection with Paradise and then off to a fantastic restaurant recommended by the hotel, Green Tangerine. A walk through the craziness of the old quarter to another restored colonial villa which fantastic quart yard. We splashed out and had a bottle of decent wine as it was our last dinner together. French- Vietnamese fusion. I had duck (again) and Piers the caramelized pork, and both of us decadent chocolate desserts. One little faux pas was that at the end we realized we did not have enough money and piers had to run back to the hotel. They were sweeping up all around us at the restaurant and the streets were quiet as Piers explained there is a curfew in Hanoi of midnight. There are clubs that stay open later by paying off the right people...