Hanoi West Lake To Noi Bai International Airport
Time to leave Hanoi but not going home yet. I needed to be in Vientiane, so let's go!
This would only be Leg No. 9 in my circle trip of 13 flights. Still a long way to 'home'.
Yet as always, let's do this blow-by-blow!
A Reliable Taxi Service
From Hanoi West Lake to Noi Bai International Airport is about 25kms - expectedly about half an hour (or even less) by taxi, no traffic because this was a noontime trip.
Yes there is Grab Car in Hanoi since 2016 (Grab Food even started just last October). But I wanted to try this taxi service - touted as 'reliable' by their tourism department.
Flat rate, yet just a few VND more expensive than Grab. But the more interesting part about "Taxi Group" (the taxi service) is "it" along with some others, being 'endorsed'.
Yes, endorsed by government as a private/consortium but reliable taxi service. And, that branding deal - only those labeled "Intercon Westlake" may queue up at said hotel.
Grabe pagka-specific 'no? Visibility for Intercon, but honor for Taxi Group. Cool!
I asked around and learned that, "Taxi Group" (that's the corporate name) is a big old consortium of taxi operators, mostly on regulated flat rate from hotels to the airport but proven through time (daw), that they 'generally' provide tourist-friendly services.
What I have proven... oo nga nag-e-English si driver.
Ano ngayon? Hmm, I'm thinking.., ito yata ang isa sa mga ginagaya ng "yellow taxi" natin, na sumasablay nga lang, dahil pa rin, sa mga barumbadong driver pa rin. Da!
Mapapa-isip ka na lang.., hindi laws, systems or procedures ang kadalasan problem natin - values. Parang 'mainland', puro pandaraya pang-lalamang ang nasa isip. 'No?
So, masarap ma-experience naman natin ang "better than Manila" environment.
Anyway and mind you, Taxi Group isn't only to/from airports but to/from everywhere. Their flat rates pala, are from specific establishments lang. Else, they use the meter.
Sana hindi ako "speaking too soon", kasi as of now, saludo ako sa ganyan nila.
Eh tayo? Ambot sa langaw pila'y edad sa oc-oc hahaha!
Imagine that.., another new thing we learned. Travel is education!
Sights & Scenes on the Road: City To Airport
Ah, on this run, I was wide awake and all eyes, to see how it is now in Hanoi!
While West Lake is known for heavier loads at times (unlike our EDSA yet ha), I didn't expect chaos, as this was a Sunday noontime. But I did not expect it to be this light!
Look! Iilan lang ang sasakyan at mid day. Sige go!
But, like in many places, especially our inang bayan, some motorbikers are unruly!
They just dart from anywhere to everywhere, tapos pag nabundol, kasalanan mo pa!
Go pa rin. I was still liking this. Very light traffic!
By the way, you may have noticed, there are wall artworks (murals) on the road side (this is Đ. Âu Cơ or Âu Cơ Street). Those are part of the continuing "Ceramic Street".
Ever heard about that? The original, way back south (sa likod ko) before West Lake holds a Guinness World Record of The World's Largest Ceramic Mosaic (ca. 2010).
Long story, basta it's a street mural, hindi paint, but using little square ceramic tiles, made into a mosaic of various topics, laid on more than 6 kilometers of road walls.
The original "end" of that 6+ kilometers was across Pan Pacific Hotel. However, due to popularity-practicality-whatever, they have extended it to an even greater length on the same road, I don't know how long now! That pic is about 3kms from Pan Pacific.
Na! So it's getting longer. And I think the "extending" goes both ways - to the north & to the south of the original 6+ kilometers of a contiguous road. That would be great.
Then they should probably call it The Ceramic Highway!
Now now... about 1 kilometer or so after the last ceramic mosaic art I saw... maybe still only 3 or 4 minutes from the hotel, we passed by Quảng Bá Flower Market. Wo!
It's the "Dangwa" of Hanoi! I have not been there yet, but I know it started in the 90's.
There were no people but I expected it to be so, being noontime. I was told the lively action (of selling/buying) is active past midnight to 3 or 4 AM. Parang Dangwa nga!
A friend told me that even the "crowd" of "walking flashlights" is a photo-op for him.
Serious flower buyers bring flashlights to this market so they can clearly see flower details in the dark - which - becomes a unique photo-op-challenge for tourists. Aliw!
Bucket-listed na yan. So near, yet so far. Haizst!
Onwards, I saw more walls that could be part of the "ceramic street". Promising!
Ayos yan. They can keep breaking their record, until all of Hanoi is with ceramic art!
By the way, when they say "ceramic mosaic" hindi yan parang the usual na gawain sa Pilipinas na bumabasag lang ng kung anu-anong tiles ha?! They manufacture those tiny little squares and/or various shapes of ceramic tiles. And, per color shade yan!
You have to see them to appreciate the work. My favorites are at this, this, and this.
Okay, time to go up Đường Vành Đai 2, from where we were at Đường Vành Đai 1.
That is the one up there - yung tulay. The airport area is to the right. But, as you can discern from our position in that photo, we were veering left. Why? Ah just because!
That is how they made that road connection eh, me magagawa ka? Hahaha! Ganito yan: imagine you were along South Super Highway from Laguna, papuntang Makati.
Walang rampway (or kalsada) paakyat na pakanan sa Pasong Tamo, kakaliwa ka ng Magallanes, andun ang cloverleaf para maka-akyat ka sa EDSA na pakanan. Ganern!
Like that ang situation dyan. Bakit? Aba malay, walang basagan ng trip. That is how they want to do it eh! Baka umangal ang mga nakatira sa kanan, so left na lang. Da!
Eto.., after we turned left (previous picture), paakyat na kami to join that big bridge.
And then sa kaliwa (beyond left edge of photo) we would turn right to be on Đường Vành Đai 2. See that yellow circle? Watch for it, doon kami papunta sa takbong ito!
And here we were, kakasampa lang sa highway, medyo malayo pa ang tulay na yun!
Kumbaga sa example sa taas, nasa EDSA Magallanes Interchange ka na, facing the Magallanes MRT station at Pasong Tamo, kasi dumaan ka muna ng Malibay, ganun!
Look at this photo, dun sa baba, sa malayo kami galing - from right to left...
Ba't di kami kumanan doon? That's what I was pointing to you above. No road kasi!
Finally crossing the popular Cầu Nhật Tân or Nhật Tân Bridge over the Red River.
This is that modern bridge (2015 lang) that is quite a topic in Hanoi, even elsewhere, when talking about new bridges. Many call this the Vietnam-Japan Friendship Bridge.
Oh well, it's when talking about "bridges and airports" hehehe! You probably already know that, right? You do not? Ganito yan: Japan helped them make Noi Bai Airport's T2 (doon tayo papunta). Idinamay pa ang tulay na ito, pati hiway, 22kms lang naman.
A new 6-lane highway. O di ba?
So it looks like this after crossing the bridge (mga 22 kilometers pa ito to the airport):
This is now Đông Anh, which was a "rural-agricultural" district of Hanoi. Plantations and farms were all you would see here (before 2015). Now things are very different.
Obviously, this road (Vo Nguyen Giap?) has spurred development in this area. There are now housing, industrial complexes, urban-style areas in place of the vast farms.
Many of them are easily seen as any vehicle zooms on this 6-lane road to the airport. Oh, I even saw a row of 3 high-rises in the making - I counted, they're 30 floors each.
And this highway is appropriately well-connected - at least this signage says so.
QL means Quốc lộ. Ano daw?! Ah, for us visitors, they placed the English translation (in parenthesis) - NH means National Highway. Aw di ko alam ba't me tuldok heheh!
Basta QL 5 (NH 5) is National Highway 5. That goes all the way to Hải Phòng, about 120kms or more. There is a newly upgraded international airport there (HPH, 2016).
About 40kms lang from Hải Phòng, you will reach the famous Ha Long Bay. Ahahay!
QL 3 (NH 3) is National Highway 3. That road goes to Vietnam's northern cities, like Thái Nguyên, Bắc Kạn and Cao Bằng sa kabundukan katabi ng "mainland wakanga"!
Walang airport sa mga yon, and I think aabot ng 300kms ang Cao Bằng from here.
But let's not go that far. I was only going to Noi Bai Airport for my flight to Vientiane!
I clicked for this pic to capture those graphics habang naka-ngiting bungisngis ako! Well, sayang I clicked too soon, I was still far. It's not very clear, pero pwede na yata.
The question in my mind that time was: ano'ng deprensya nung kotseng drawing sa 90kph at yun sa 80kph? Di ko talaga alam, but I thought of something morbid haha!
Whatever. Basta magka-ibang kotse ang drawing. Yun ang palaisipan!
Eto morbid pa more. Buti I was in a jolly noontime mood to have encountered this...
In a calm way.., I said "hey, don't sleep"! Gumising naman and said "sorry very sleepy"!
In many decades of commuting, this was not a first-time for me to encounter a taxi driver sleeping on me as we traveled. But my style in Manila and Cebu is/was: after magising si driver, magkukunwari akong galit, para wag na maka-tulog ulit si driver.
Me pahampas-hampas pa ako sa dashboard para lang medyo umattention si driver. Kaso Vietnam ito, baka pag nag-galitgalitan ako eh kung ano ang gawin ni manong!
So, in the most unemotional way I could, I told him not to sleep yet, and I continued talking to him about kung anu-ano. But in my mind I was fervently praying "Lord wag muna now po, madami pa akong gustong matikman, gabayan nyo po ang hindot na'to"!
Hahaha! Pramis, ganun ang language-in-mind ko! Pagka-kodak ko nyan, tinignan ko ang phone ko, more than 6km pa. Pray uli "Looord, mga 7 kilometers na lang please"! Pansin nyo me sobra? Para sure na nakababa na ako, bago 'kunin' ang driver na ito!
Oh yes kasama ang clarificatory plea sa prayer ko saying "Loord, nasabi ko lang kasi sa elementary at highschool classmates ko, sila ang bahala sa lamay at libing ko, di ko na-specify ang air and land transport of my body, baka umayaw ang mga hayup na yon!
Ganun! Kaya dapat baguhin ko ang 'last will and testament' na yan!
O eto, 2kms na lang. Parang ayoko nang huminga, makarating lang ako sa airport!
Sabay me wrecker kang makikita na ganito sa gilid ng highway... Lord wag po kami!
Tapos me bus na warak ang likuran, OMG napaano kaya yon! Lord, not us please!
But I was getting near. Me welcome na! This here is Vietnam Airlines Engineering.
Next to it is the Cargo Terminal, so more than 1km na lang! Konti pa Dear Lord...!
And ah, I knew this from last week, Domestic Terminal at right, so mga 1km pa!
I was safe. This time, driver won't/can't sleep since there were things to do for him!
As he negotiated towards the taxi unloading area, napa-"thank you Lord" ako loudly!
Aba me sumagot ng "no plablem suh, heppy to suhv, theng you phoa visiting Vietnam"!
Gusto ko humalakhak but I just smiled as he went to unload my bag for me!
Just like in the Philippines, taxi drivers in Vietnam also get off their cars to help load or offload your luggage to/from their cabs, unlike in many countries you and I know.
Teka, important note: di ko naman sinabi "Lord sige pwede mo na kunin ang antoking driver na yon" hahaha! Nagpasalamat tayo na di nag-sleeping-on-the-job si manong!
Hah! I was finally at Noi Bai International Airport's Terminal 2 Departure Area. Ready for another meeting - actually! My flight to Vientiane was still later in the afternoon!
But the time gave me an opportunity to wander around and see more of this airport!
So let's talk about that in my next story, okay?
Okay. Soonest, I promise!
This would only be Leg No. 9 in my circle trip of 13 flights. Still a long way to 'home'.
Yet as always, let's do this blow-by-blow!
A Reliable Taxi Service
From Hanoi West Lake to Noi Bai International Airport is about 25kms - expectedly about half an hour (or even less) by taxi, no traffic because this was a noontime trip.
Flat rate, yet just a few VND more expensive than Grab. But the more interesting part about "Taxi Group" (the taxi service) is "it" along with some others, being 'endorsed'.
Yes, endorsed by government as a private/consortium but reliable taxi service. And, that branding deal - only those labeled "Intercon Westlake" may queue up at said hotel.
Grabe pagka-specific 'no? Visibility for Intercon, but honor for Taxi Group. Cool!
I asked around and learned that, "Taxi Group" (that's the corporate name) is a big old consortium of taxi operators, mostly on regulated flat rate from hotels to the airport but proven through time (daw), that they 'generally' provide tourist-friendly services.
What I have proven... oo nga nag-e-English si driver.
Ano ngayon? Hmm, I'm thinking.., ito yata ang isa sa mga ginagaya ng "yellow taxi" natin, na sumasablay nga lang, dahil pa rin, sa mga barumbadong driver pa rin. Da!
Mapapa-isip ka na lang.., hindi laws, systems or procedures ang kadalasan problem natin - values. Parang 'mainland', puro pandaraya pang-lalamang ang nasa isip. 'No?
So, masarap ma-experience naman natin ang "better than Manila" environment.
Anyway and mind you, Taxi Group isn't only to/from airports but to/from everywhere. Their flat rates pala, are from specific establishments lang. Else, they use the meter.
Sana hindi ako "speaking too soon", kasi as of now, saludo ako sa ganyan nila.
Eh tayo? Ambot sa langaw pila'y edad sa oc-oc hahaha!
Imagine that.., another new thing we learned. Travel is education!
Sights & Scenes on the Road: City To Airport
Ah, on this run, I was wide awake and all eyes, to see how it is now in Hanoi!
Look! Iilan lang ang sasakyan at mid day. Sige go!
But, like in many places, especially our inang bayan, some motorbikers are unruly!
Go pa rin. I was still liking this. Very light traffic!
By the way, you may have noticed, there are wall artworks (murals) on the road side (this is Đ. Âu Cơ or Âu Cơ Street). Those are part of the continuing "Ceramic Street".
Ever heard about that? The original, way back south (sa likod ko) before West Lake holds a Guinness World Record of The World's Largest Ceramic Mosaic (ca. 2010).
Long story, basta it's a street mural, hindi paint, but using little square ceramic tiles, made into a mosaic of various topics, laid on more than 6 kilometers of road walls.
The original "end" of that 6+ kilometers was across Pan Pacific Hotel. However, due to popularity-practicality-whatever, they have extended it to an even greater length on the same road, I don't know how long now! That pic is about 3kms from Pan Pacific.
Na! So it's getting longer. And I think the "extending" goes both ways - to the north & to the south of the original 6+ kilometers of a contiguous road. That would be great.
Then they should probably call it The Ceramic Highway!
Now now... about 1 kilometer or so after the last ceramic mosaic art I saw... maybe still only 3 or 4 minutes from the hotel, we passed by Quảng Bá Flower Market. Wo!
There were no people but I expected it to be so, being noontime. I was told the lively action (of selling/buying) is active past midnight to 3 or 4 AM. Parang Dangwa nga!
Serious flower buyers bring flashlights to this market so they can clearly see flower details in the dark - which - becomes a unique photo-op-challenge for tourists. Aliw!
Bucket-listed na yan. So near, yet so far. Haizst!
Onwards, I saw more walls that could be part of the "ceramic street". Promising!
By the way, when they say "ceramic mosaic" hindi yan parang the usual na gawain sa Pilipinas na bumabasag lang ng kung anu-anong tiles ha?! They manufacture those tiny little squares and/or various shapes of ceramic tiles. And, per color shade yan!
You have to see them to appreciate the work. My favorites are at this, this, and this.
Okay, time to go up Đường Vành Đai 2, from where we were at Đường Vành Đai 1.
That is how they made that road connection eh, me magagawa ka? Hahaha! Ganito yan: imagine you were along South Super Highway from Laguna, papuntang Makati.
Walang rampway (or kalsada) paakyat na pakanan sa Pasong Tamo, kakaliwa ka ng Magallanes, andun ang cloverleaf para maka-akyat ka sa EDSA na pakanan. Ganern!
Like that ang situation dyan. Bakit? Aba malay, walang basagan ng trip. That is how they want to do it eh! Baka umangal ang mga nakatira sa kanan, so left na lang. Da!
Eto.., after we turned left (previous picture), paakyat na kami to join that big bridge.
And here we were, kakasampa lang sa highway, medyo malayo pa ang tulay na yun!
Look at this photo, dun sa baba, sa malayo kami galing - from right to left...
Finally crossing the popular Cầu Nhật Tân or Nhật Tân Bridge over the Red River.
Oh well, it's when talking about "bridges and airports" hehehe! You probably already know that, right? You do not? Ganito yan: Japan helped them make Noi Bai Airport's T2 (doon tayo papunta). Idinamay pa ang tulay na ito, pati hiway, 22kms lang naman.
A new 6-lane highway. O di ba?
So it looks like this after crossing the bridge (mga 22 kilometers pa ito to the airport):
Obviously, this road (Vo Nguyen Giap?) has spurred development in this area. There are now housing, industrial complexes, urban-style areas in place of the vast farms.
And this highway is appropriately well-connected - at least this signage says so.
Basta QL 5 (NH 5) is National Highway 5. That goes all the way to Hải Phòng, about 120kms or more. There is a newly upgraded international airport there (HPH, 2016).
About 40kms lang from Hải Phòng, you will reach the famous Ha Long Bay. Ahahay!
QL 3 (NH 3) is National Highway 3. That road goes to Vietnam's northern cities, like Thái Nguyên, Bắc Kạn and Cao Bằng sa kabundukan katabi ng "mainland wakanga"!
Walang airport sa mga yon, and I think aabot ng 300kms ang Cao Bằng from here.
But let's not go that far. I was only going to Noi Bai Airport for my flight to Vientiane!
The question in my mind that time was: ano'ng deprensya nung kotseng drawing sa 90kph at yun sa 80kph? Di ko talaga alam, but I thought of something morbid haha!
Whatever. Basta magka-ibang kotse ang drawing. Yun ang palaisipan!
Eto morbid pa more. Buti I was in a jolly noontime mood to have encountered this...
In many decades of commuting, this was not a first-time for me to encounter a taxi driver sleeping on me as we traveled. But my style in Manila and Cebu is/was: after magising si driver, magkukunwari akong galit, para wag na maka-tulog ulit si driver.
Me pahampas-hampas pa ako sa dashboard para lang medyo umattention si driver. Kaso Vietnam ito, baka pag nag-galitgalitan ako eh kung ano ang gawin ni manong!
So, in the most unemotional way I could, I told him not to sleep yet, and I continued talking to him about kung anu-ano. But in my mind I was fervently praying "Lord wag muna now po, madami pa akong gustong matikman, gabayan nyo po ang hindot na'to"!
Hahaha! Pramis, ganun ang language-in-mind ko! Pagka-kodak ko nyan, tinignan ko ang phone ko, more than 6km pa. Pray uli "Looord, mga 7 kilometers na lang please"! Pansin nyo me sobra? Para sure na nakababa na ako, bago 'kunin' ang driver na ito!
Oh yes kasama ang clarificatory plea sa prayer ko saying "Loord, nasabi ko lang kasi sa elementary at highschool classmates ko, sila ang bahala sa lamay at libing ko, di ko na-specify ang air and land transport of my body, baka umayaw ang mga hayup na yon!
Ganun! Kaya dapat baguhin ko ang 'last will and testament' na yan!
O eto, 2kms na lang. Parang ayoko nang huminga, makarating lang ako sa airport!
Sabay me wrecker kang makikita na ganito sa gilid ng highway... Lord wag po kami!
Tapos me bus na warak ang likuran, OMG napaano kaya yon! Lord, not us please!
But I was getting near. Me welcome na! This here is Vietnam Airlines Engineering.
Next to it is the Cargo Terminal, so more than 1km na lang! Konti pa Dear Lord...!
And ah, I knew this from last week, Domestic Terminal at right, so mga 1km pa!
I was safe. This time, driver won't/can't sleep since there were things to do for him!
As he negotiated towards the taxi unloading area, napa-"thank you Lord" ako loudly!
Gusto ko humalakhak but I just smiled as he went to unload my bag for me!
Teka, important note: di ko naman sinabi "Lord sige pwede mo na kunin ang antoking driver na yon" hahaha! Nagpasalamat tayo na di nag-sleeping-on-the-job si manong!
Hah! I was finally at Noi Bai International Airport's Terminal 2 Departure Area. Ready for another meeting - actually! My flight to Vientiane was still later in the afternoon!
So let's talk about that in my next story, okay?
Okay. Soonest, I promise!
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