Planes, trains and taxi cabs

I bid Sapa adieu today, back to Hanoi on the overnight train for an early morning flight back to Bangkok. I think the sleeper train may be a bit of a scam. I'm in a normal seat and we shall see. I get the feeling everyone pumps the sleeper cars because they're double the price. But I think I may have finally learned a traveler's lesson. Do for yourself. And don't be lazy. You can rely on agencies to book things for you and pay higher prices for the ease of not having to take care of things yourself. And I do. But more often than not, if you go directly to the source, a train station, the ferry, the airport, whatever it may be, you'll get the same ticket for the actual price. People will say many a thing to help you part with your cash all over this Earth.

Ok. The sleeper cars are worth it if you want to sleep on the overnight train. In the main cars, where I found myself last night wide awake, people drink, talk, listen to music, cry (at least kids). It's not the worst thing, but it's not the most relaxing or restful either. And when traveling from Sapa to Hanoi, make sure you get a ticket returning you to the main Hanoi train station. I got dropped off at an alternate stop this morning, had to search for a main thoroughfare and taxi, and yes, missed my flight to Thailand. My poor cabbie. There is no international symbol or signal for airplane. Putting your hand in the air and making a whistling sound does not mean "airport." Stressed, I am not always a nice person. So, we tried another cab. Got out a guidebook to indicate Noi Bai airport, started out on our way, and got cut off by the former cabbie. I guess he wanted our fare. So kicked out of the cab by the second driver, loaded back into the first, I repeated, "Noi Bai...Noi Bai...NOI BAI!" The second driver explained that we needed to get to the airport. During the trip I also learned that screaming, "Fast! Drive faster!" isn't universal cab speak. Somehow in a cab New York City comes out of me. Our driver called a friend who spoke English and passed the phone to me. All the while, I'm getting even more aggravated that the driver is going 30 KPH so that he can make a phone call. Nonetheless, the driver, the talker and I all agreed on a price, including an incentive if we made it to the airport in time.

And hey. We did make it to the airport. And I missed my flight. Thankfully, Air Asia has an office upstairs where I was able to change to a later flight for a nominal fee. Phew! One week only left of this journey. Hope all goes smoothly, more smoothly than today, at least.