On to Hanoi - a Rough Day

Thursday was rough, and the mild sore throat I woke up with should have been a warning.

The morning was spent packing to get ready to fly to Hanoi. As I had a bit of extra time, I walked to the famous Ben Thanh indoor market, to do a bit of shopping. Walking there, I thought how nice it was to get out without carrying my camera for a change. Go figure. Whom should I see in the market but Anthony Bourdain. Evidently, he is doing his third show in Vietnam and may actually move here for a year. Anyway, I talked to his location manager for a bit and then introduced myself and Troy. At least I had my cell phone so I do have one picture. However it will have to wait until I'm home because I do not know how to transfer it to my computer.

At the airport, I finally had a chance to get online for a bit. Here's a picture of me in the business class lounge, eating leftover pizza and updating this blog, for you, my readers (assuming there are any):



By the picture, you might think Troy would be the ultimate traveling companion. Not so much. From the time of boarding until 30 minutes into the flight, Troy whined and cried and thrashed and clawed. I will understand if Vietnam Airlines creates a policy banning infants (or Troy) from business class. Thankfully, my seatmate was most patient and helpful, and even would have provided us a ride into town in his company car had I been traveling alone (he is the general manager of Vietnam's latex export company).

By the way, Vietnam Airlines flies 777's from Saigon to Hanoi. They sure like big planes.

In Hanoi, we're staying at the Horison hotel, which is a bit away from the tourist center. It's quite nice.

I decided to wander the area to get some dinner. Troy fell asleep in the carrier as I walked through what I would call the "working class" neighborhood. This means there were restaurants selling "Bia Hoi" (cheap local draft beer) and "Thit Cho" (dog meat). For the first time I actually saw some puppy already cooked up and ready for take out. I moved on and got my dinner as take out from a decent looking place called "Saigon Deli".

Back at the hotel, I fed Troy and myself more or less simultaneously. Here's the scene:



It was at this point that Troy melted down again, seemingly inconsolable, clawing at his ears, and kicking his legs. Thinking it might be an ear infection, I gave him some ibuprofin. I also looked up the number for the medical clinic and prepared to e-mail my doctors at home. With a good bit of work and my back in significant pain, I got Troy to sleep. I was too exhausted to contact any doctors so went to bed right after that.