Hanoi hits me

I had wondered when the Hanoi return would hit me.

I’d been due to arrive yesterday evening but a tropical storm over Hong Kong forced the plane to take a breather in Taiwan before returning too late for the Hanoi transfer.

It meant being put up in a hotel.  Staff there said my airline voucher would only include food from the buffet.  The word “only” seemed increasingly ridiculous as I dined on a spread of sushi, crab, Indian and Chinese food. Not to mention regressing into a small child at the ice cream counter.

I wondered what my Cameroon self would have paid for such a feast.  I wondered what my still Cameroon-dwelling colleagues would make of it. I resisted the urge to post pictures on Facebook.

The unplanned HK stay meant I boarded the plane to Hanoi in daylight and feeling fully refreshed.  And it was while waiting at the gate the whooooosh came. It finally hit me. An inward, but no less exhilarating, spiralling euphoria.

I finally made it back.

On arriving in Hanoi – a first small change – is it just me of are the frosty airport staff slightly less austere and comic-book Communist than they once were? The airport was a breeze.

After getting to the hotel and meeting a mate for lunch I walked around and was surprised at just how little the place had changed.

There was actually less traffic than I remembered – albeit on a wet Wednesday afternoon.  Everyone now in helmets though.  Assorted backpackers still traipsed around in clothes as unsuitable as they ever were. Hey kids, lets put on our hot pants and go out.

Maybe it was just the new shop selling iPhones but everywhere felt a little bit richer. A little cleaner too and more modern but from the negative noises I had heard I had expected a much more austere nouveau riche makeover.

What amazed me was just how at home I immediately felt. Jumping on a xe om it felt so small and light compared to the African motorbikes I had grown used to but the Vietnamese words came from nowhere as I haggled over the price.

Stopping off at an old haunt I was warmly greeted by staff who still recognised me – but they were shocked when I told them I’d been away two and a half years.  They’d assumed I’d just been on a trip.

I’d envisaged walking into a Hanoi furnace but the drizzly day was way cooler than I anticipated.  The humidity was still there though.  I noticed, remembered and even enjoyed,  the sensation of how it makes your clothes feel heavier.  Also the fact that while it didn’t feel warm, a short walk was still enough to leave you soggy.

But what has surprised me is that it really does feel like I’ve never been away.  The whoooosh enjoyed in anticipation in Hong Kong has already given way to a lived-in contentment and feeling of belonging.

It’s not what I expected but I’m very happy with it. It feels more sustainable.

Now I need to scare up some old mates and make some new ones too. I want my Hanoi life to be a sociable one.

Oh, and tomorrow I hire a scooter.