Gary and Mary Lou go to Asia: It was a dark and rainy night...

... when we finally landed in Hanoi! Our flight seemed to be less than half full so we breezed through customs and were on our way in no time.

Helpful hints:

1. We got our visas on arrival from MyVietnamVisa.com. They emailed our arrival letters back within a few days and there was no problem with them at the airport.

2. We didn't realize we would need passport photos for the Vietnam visas. It was no problem because we were able to pay $2.00 U.S. per person to get them taken at the Hanoi airport, but if you like to be prepared, bring extra passport photos for Vietnam entry. (Although we paid $15 for two photos at our local post office for photos for the Cambodian visas, so I guess we ended up saving money doing it this way!)

3. You will need cash to pay for your visas -- $25 U.S. per person for single entry, and $50 per person for multiple entry.

4. The actual visa is a sticker that goes inside your passport. I guess we were expecting it to be a separate document because we were a little confused when they handed back our passports and waved us over to the customs people. Don't be confused when that happens to you: Yes, you are done. The visa is in your passport.

After we were through customs (total about 20 minutes), we picked up our bags and met our nice young driver, whom we retained through NoiBaiTaxi.com online. He was right where we expected him to be, holding a sign with our names on it. He led us out into the rainy night and left us on the curb while he went to get the car.

We only had time to look around and observe that the weather in Hanoi was exactly the same as the weather we'd left in Los Angeles before our driver was back with his just-big-enough-for-us-and-our-bags car!

This isn't really it... the car we drove in was of similar size but was a little sedan rather than a hatchback. Our two big bags filled the trunk and our two carry-ons rode shotgun! The back seat was completely filled up by... us!

And what a ride! Dark, wet, rainy, and FAST! Don't let the lines on the road cramp your style... at most, they are suggestions! Our driver made good use of the horn and the high-beams when it came to, uh, urging slower-moving vehicles out of his way! It. was. awesome.

Also awesome was when we approached a very large, very beautiful building that was covered in little white lights for Christmas, and it turned out to be our hotel!! (Turns out we just missed the lighting ceremony by a couple of days!) The Hotel Sofitel Legend Metropole is old-world drop-dead gorgeous, with service and amenities to match! We were particularly pleased when the charming young man at the front desk informed us that we would be staying in the newer part of the hotel, and personally escorted us to the check-in desk in the new wing, regaling us with tidbits about the hotel and its history along the way.

After that buildup, the room did not disappoint:

Room 287. Gotta love it! And how cool is the panorama function on Gary's camera?


So. Fab.

Gorgeous! And would you like a closer look at the Christmas lights outside the window? Here you go:

Can you see Santa and his reindeer flying over the pool? And check out that banana tree in the foreground!

Having settled in a bit, the first order of business is to dive into the welcome folder from AMA Waterways, featuring a map of Hanoi, helpful hints, and the all-important schedule for tomorrow! Yay!!