11.04 - Day 14 - Taipei, Taiwan to Hanoi, Vietnam
Saturday 11th April
Taipei, Taiwan - Hanoi, Vietnam
Temperature - Taipei Min 18, Max 24. Hanoi Min 27, Max 38.
19,992 steps
Kate and I get up at 6:30am to head out for a walk before the day is started - to view again Taipei 101 but from a different perspective. Leaving Sienna and Seb asleep we catch the red line Metro to its end stop of Xiangshan one stop after Taipei 101. Already on the train it's possible to pick out a few other tourists who have the same plan in mind.
10 minutes walk south of the station we start the well-trodden trail up Elephant Mountain. It's over 500 stairs up and seemingly no two stairs are the same, forcing you to keep your wits about you.
As the hillside faces west we're not in any direct sunlight this time in the morning though it's already warm and humid. If incentive was required to not stop and dawdle, it quickly reminds you in the form of fat, slow mosquitoes who must dine out on people struggling up the stairs.
But there is of course the main reason for coming - to stop and admire the views of Taipei 101 which is very unique standing out not just for a shape but how it dominates the skyline.
As we wend back down a different trail we pass a couple of dusty badminton courts carved into the hillside - groups of local foursomes like us raising an early morning sweat.
At the bottom, as locals perform slow moving Tai Chi, other visitors check their water bottles before starting their hike. We're glad we got up early; it's only going to get hotter and harder as the day progresses.
We're back at the Just Sleep hotel for 8:30am, kids just getting ready for our last breakfast in Taiwan, another full buffet. After packing up and checking out, Kate buys some sweets for work colleagues whilst the kids spend the last of the coins at Family Mart and 7-Eleven on different sugary treats.
We haul our luggage to the train station to catch the Airtrain with plenty of time to spare.
But by the time we just miss a train and wait 15 minutes, then get off at the airport only to be told our flight is from another terminal that we've already passed through, it’s a rushed goodbye to Kate who is heading back to Sydney via Hong Kong, and we only make it to check in with 8 minutes to spare.
After meticulous checking of our Vietnam visas by the check-in staff, we’re finally through. Of course then having to wait in the end after the flight is delayed 20 minutes.
In fact we're on a different flight altogether to what I booked originally, Vietjet having cancelled our flight while we were in Penang. So now we're on a Starlux flight which equals TVs and food - Sienna and Seb even eating most of their food. Discussions about who get the window seat prove to have been unnecessary.
After a 3-hour flight, the arrival process is the quickest yet; no queues at immigration (and no smiles) and our luggage waiting on the carousel.
A taxi booked through our hotel is waiting for us in Arrivals and brings us the 45-minute journey to Eliana Ruby in Old Town Hanoi - the smooth flowing motorway suddenly hitting the hustle and bustle of scooters and the generally cavalier approach to road rules.
By 7pm we’re checked in, then popping out to grab skewered meat sandwiches from old favourite Nha Hang Ngoc Linh. That's once I realise that Eliana Ruby is in fact next door purely by chance to Little Hanoi Deluxe where we'd stayed two years ago.
I get exclamations and smiles from the cafe ladies who point back and forth to Sienna and Seb with the photo I showed them on my phone from our prior visits. We eat in the cool of the hotel dining area before heading up to bed with an early start ahead tomorrow.
