Nicholas M Ong

I brought a little something back from Vietnam on this trip. Guess who is this for? Don’t be too smart about it though.

I reckon that by the time I post this, I would have arrived in Singapore. My day started at 03:30hrs. Rose from bed and did the usual routine as I did every morning. The only difference this morning was I had to be ready in 50 minutes or less. The airport taxi was on it’s way and expected to arrive at 04:30hrs. Besides leaving some business shirts behind so I do not have to pack them for my next trip, everything else went into my luggage short of my aromatherapy burner. See… I never fail to forget something each time I travel.

The taxi ride to the airport took about 40 minutes even with few cars on the road at that hour. It had to do with the speed limit of no more than 60km/hr. I am pretty sure, any Singaporean driver would have covered the distance in 20 minutes or less. Anyway, I reached the airport and proceeded to check-in. Somehow, there was some confusion with my ticket. My colleague had confirmed my 06:30 flight via HCMC to Singapore and also put me on wait list for a 10:30 flight direct from Hanoi to Singapore. Common sense tells me that since my 06:30 flight had been confirmed, I would be taken off wait list on the 10:30 flight. The officer at the check-in desk informed me that my 06:30 flight had been cancelled.

So there I was, at the airport at 05:30 in the morning with my luggage and I’m being told my 06:30 flight has been cancelled and I have be placed on the 10:30 flight instead. With half my brains still in bed, I remained calmed and asked the nice lady “what should I do in the next 5 hours?” I guess it was then she realised that it didn’t quite make sense. So as helpful as she was, she started running in and out of the back office for the next 15 minutes. Finally, after speaking to a superior, she managed to put me back on the 06:30 flight so we were all happy.

Arriving in the HCMC airport, I couldn’t help but notice the huge difference. Though slightly better lit, the international airport in Hanoi reminded me of that in Jakarta. As for the HCMC international airport, it looked like any modern airport. Goes to show the stark contrast between lifestyles in Hanoi and HCMC. Hanoi being the government capital, is much more laid back and you might just get that rustic feeling amidst all the noisy traffic and zipping motorcycles.

HCMC on the other hand being the financial capital of the country boost better infrastructure. Buildings are more modern and unlike Hanoi, you can actually see the road markings if you get what I mean. Heck, even the immigration officers had better looking uniforms in HCMC.

Flying business class on Vietnam Airlines is very different from flying economy class. On business class, you get the usual; wider seats and more legroom. The real kickback would be that you finally get some level of service. The cabin crew speak better English and the food did tasted slightly better though I’m still not a big fan of airline food except for ice-cream. On economy class, I’d usually get that ‘duh’ look from cabin crew when I speak to them in English. More often than not, they’d have to bring another colleague who understood a little more English to figure out that I just wanted some nuts to go with my beer. In any case, apart from the legroom and wider seats, I’d still stick to flying economy class on Singapore Airlines; if I had to choose that is. There no in-flight entertainment on Vietnam Airlines apart from watching the stewardess as they walk by in they uniforms…

Ok, so it’s 1 hour and 40 minutes from Hanoi to HCMC. Then there’s a 1 hour waiting time in transit which I spent in the business class lounge. Followed by the final leg of my trip back to Singapore which will take another 1 hour and 45 minutes or so. There after, it’s a 30 minutes taxi ride back home. I just wasted a whole day travelling. Oh heck, it’s a public holiday tomorrow anyway.

Diana Krall - Live In Paris - Fly Me To The Moon