After such flurried ride the last month through SE Asia, I think it all finally caught up with me in Hanoi. Things were going too smoothly. After flying into Hanoi I still had all intentions on heading though Laos before I went home, but alas I learned of that impossibility. In most cases booking tours, rooms or travel only 1 day ahead is plenty, however a 1-way flight to the USA is an exception. I knew this, so I was in contact with an online travel agency out of Bangkok since the beginning of November to ensure I had a good deal on a flight back home (in the end, they basically kept me on hold the entire time). It was about this time of the trip I had deduced how far my money would take me, so I picked a date and ran the motions of getting home. The trick is: travel agencies are typically quite cheap out of the country the flight originates in, because the agencies create so much traffic for the airlines.
So, being in Vietnam for the remainder of the trip, I was stuck with few options to book a flight out of Bangkok because Vietnamese travel agencies quoted ridiculous prices on such flights. However, flights out of Vietnam all of a sudden became reasonable. After I got back from my trip to Halong bay, which I'll talk about in a minute, I got quotes from a multitude of agencies for flights home. Also, I learned that a bus ride to Luang Prabang - a beautiful spot in Laos - was a 2 day / 2 night endeavour. It then became clear that there was no way I could travel through Laos and fly out of Bangkok.
One agency in particular had a severely discounted rate on a flight with only 2 seats left on the aircraft, so I put a deposit down only to discover the next day that the price had risen $70 because of a complication with the layover in Taipei and they'd have to put me on a flight through Bangkok instead! The next day I come to pay the full amount and discover the price has raised again! Oh joy! Poor receptionist =\.
On top of all that, the staff on the liveaboard to Halong bay basically ripped me off, I've got a cold now, and I can't go to Laos or anywhere else for that matter because my flight is out of Hanoi in 6 days. It's probably a blessing in disguise for me to recuperate though. It would be no fun to be sick on a bus and roughing it through Laos.
So I'm making the best of it, and relaxing in a this wild city (as best as I can). There are many things to do and see here, and there are worse places to be stuck in!!! Halong bay was stunning and the other travelers on the boat made it a blast. Saigon was really insane, but a hell of a good time.
I depart the morning of the 19th and layover in Bangkok for I think 7 hours, then land in LA around 7pm. Lily and Brandon are going to pick me up at the airport and give me a place to sleep that night, thanks you two! They'll drop me off at the airport early that morning and I'll land in Denver at 9:30am on the 21st. Home sweet home.
This, of course, is assuming all goes to plan, which we all know is a heavy assumption ;), but that's travelling!!! See you all soon!
Oh yea. Nov. 23rd. Boulder. Outback Saloon. 9pm. Be there or be [].
Muse - Feeling Good
Muse - Glorious
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