Vancouver B.C. to Hanoi, Vietnam

November 13/15

Our plans for a fall journey were only firmed up in the fall and formal planning started in October ….so it is a shorter trip than other recent travels with a duration of 32 days….the goal is to visit Vietnam visiting the country from north to south, hitting what we hope will be many of the high points. After much deliberation we decided to skip Central Vietnam as the weather is considered to be poor at this time of the year, concentrating on the North and the South.

The first step is to get there and that in itself should be an epic journey. Our flight is with EVA (Taiwanese airline) which leaves half past midnight and will land in Hanoi at 15:30 on November 15th……all-in a 20-hour flight should be fun!!!

For our added enjoyment we will stop in Taipei and Singapore switching there to catch a Singapore Airlines flight to our final stop. BTW for anyone reading who is an Aeroplan member, when booking your flight try NOT to fly any legs with Air Canada as the taxes are cruel > we paid 170 CAD in taxes + points flying EVA/Singapore, had we flown A/C it would been some 650 CAD in taxes!!

Our first task is to make the 13:00 ferry from the Sunshine Coast to Vancouver…..no matter how much you prepare there is always the last-minute hectic runaround to shut down the house and as we arrive at the terminal the attendant cheerfully tells us, “no overload today, yet”…. you can never be sure with B.C. Ferries > a beauty of a day and nice sail…..complete a few chores in North Vancouver, enjoy a short b-day celebration for Trevor with Ella, Andre “the elder” and Alex “future trouble”, then an early supper at the Tap & Barrel at Lonsdale Quay…and a view of the skyline from North Vancouver:

 

 

….then zap across the harbour on the Sea Bus and the Skytrain to the airport…public transport which works….great stuff!! Now, all we need to do is wait 2 hours for check-in, then security and wait another 2 hours until we depart.

At the airport before starting a trip, we have a ritual > that starts with a pilgrimage to the Jade Canoe: “The Spirit of the Haida Gwaii”, and today is no exception.

The first leg is 10,000 kilometres and 12 hours plus 15 hours of time change…..a short delay as one of the baggage compartments wouldn’t close so the “techies” solution was to empty the compartment, close it and secure it with duct tape !!! In any event good seats, average eats and above-average sleep…..a miracle baby beside us > no crying, yelling, or other sleep-depriving activities.  On the other hand, the flight was quite bouncy for over 2 hours but no big airdrops! Arrive in Taipei at 05:30 on schedule …now a 2-hour wait before the next leg.

Another 3,250 kilometres, 4.5-hour flight to Singapore with EVA, on time departure/arrival >>> smooth flight with decent eats, the beer went down nicely leading to a longish nap. This flight featured a special EVA livery entitled “Hello Kitty” > the Sanrio Family of characters extends a warm hand of friendship to all passengers. Let us take each other’s hand and build the bridge of happiness and friendship. Annie with one of the pillows…

In any event with the help of these characters, we got to Singapore safely with 3 hours to enjoy Changi Airport rated as the best airport in the world….. we feel a little ragged so exploring is kept to a minimum.

The last leg is a mere 3-hour flight, adding 2,200 kilometres and at 17:30 we land on schedule. The flight was smooth as silk and the flight attendant poured us 3 generous measures of wine ….nap time again, baggage retrieval, customs, immigration etc. no issues. The last piece is to find our driver and at pillar #9 outside of arrivals, there he is sign-in-hand and by 18:45 we are at the Antique Legend Hotel. We have now had the longest flight of our lives !!!

Check-in, and out the door we go to get some air, a few spring rolls and Hanoi beers on the street and we are fully done…… well-deserved bedtime!!!!