Hanoi
Day 1: Friday 15th March 2019
09:10 Flight from Heathrow T2 on Singapore airlines
Day 2: Saturday 16th March 2019
06:05 Arrive Singapore airport
09:20 Flight from Singapore airport
11:40 Arrive Hanoi
At Hanoi airport we met Adrian, who had been on the same flights as us. We were picked up by a driver as planned and taken to the Serene Premier Hotel. En route we noted 3 main things – driving mostly involves driving into a space and honking your horn, but it seemed effective and the traffic kept flowing; loads of mopeds but very few tuc-tucs (I later discovered that tuc-tucs have been banned in Hanoi); an amazing network of overhead mains electric cables (apparently people just attach a cable and steal off the grid). The hotel is located down a narrow street in the old quarter of the city. Alison had a doze while I went out for a short stroll to a nearby lake. This was quite popular with people out for the day, street sellers and an outdoor market. The weather was drizzly, but I managed to find and identify 7 bird species, one of which was new for me (Japanese White-eye). Returned to the hotel. Having effectively gone a whole night without sleep, I had a couple of hours doze. At 18:00 we met the rest of the group in the lobby and went out to eat at a nearby restaurant
09:10 Flight from Heathrow T2 on Singapore airlines
Day 2: Saturday 16th March 2019
06:05 Arrive Singapore airport
09:20 Flight from Singapore airport
11:40 Arrive Hanoi
At Hanoi airport we met Adrian, who had been on the same flights as us. We were picked up by a driver as planned and taken to the Serene Premier Hotel. En route we noted 3 main things – driving mostly involves driving into a space and honking your horn, but it seemed effective and the traffic kept flowing; loads of mopeds but very few tuc-tucs (I later discovered that tuc-tucs have been banned in Hanoi); an amazing network of overhead mains electric cables (apparently people just attach a cable and steal off the grid). The hotel is located down a narrow street in the old quarter of the city. Alison had a doze while I went out for a short stroll to a nearby lake. This was quite popular with people out for the day, street sellers and an outdoor market. The weather was drizzly, but I managed to find and identify 7 bird species, one of which was new for me (Japanese White-eye). Returned to the hotel. Having effectively gone a whole night without sleep, I had a couple of hours doze. At 18:00 we met the rest of the group in the lobby and went out to eat at a nearby restaurant