Leaving on an early flight can be quite fraught. On our trip to the airport for a family holiday to Fiji, we went a kilometre down the road.  There was a thump thump thump : A  tyre and torch flat. Thank goodness for iPhone lights and a son who used to be a mechanic ,otherwise the tight schedule to reach the airport by 4.00am would not have happened. The rest of the family had a vomiting child….goodbye cap now filled, strip and redress six year old . Coffee, lose a jacket for child 2. This time we went in the afternoon before…..storm, but we just missed the trains being stopped, stayed at a hotel and had a leisurely trip to airport.

Whoooo! An upgrade to business class to Hong Kong. An uneventful trip, great food and movies I wanted to see. From Hong Kong airport there isviews to mountains and out to the islands or mainland.

Hong Kong airport had some great displays of the history of tea and teapots. There was also a  teapots from an annual teapot competition where teapots have animal,plant or other themes. Other areas had manufactured goods created over the last 100 years on the island.Certainly excellent way of entertaining travellers.

     

   

Arriving in Hanoi, we were struck by how easy it was to pass through immigration and collect our luggage. The freeway into the city was fairy empty of traffic but not unexpected as it was quite late. Once we hit the city it was a different story.

There were cars, buses and motorcycles everywhere. Cars just cut across the road ,motorcycles swerve, horns honk. The motorcycles are definitely the family car. Mum has the toddler strapped to her back ,cradles the baby and there maybe one or two people in front,or groceries. Others carry produce, sticks, bottles,boxes, you name it.

   

We are staying close to….you guessed it, the railway station. The hotel has train photos on every wall and is known as the Mercure, La Gare. Great for our 6am train start,but tomorrow we see Hanoi.