Day 18: Fri 24 Feb - Hanoi

          These eight blokes hauled this big tank up from the ground with two ropes 

         My third room 705

         The men sat there on their phones while this young lady did all the concrete mixing with a shovel 

         The building. 

            Room service 

Temp: 17 to 20C and showers, I know where I’m staying. 

A very ordinary nights sleep, just can’t seem to stop the cough no matter how I sleep or what I take.  I suppose it will go away when it’s good and ready. 

This was the last day of the tour, everyone will arrive back here today for final celebrations and a farewell dinner.  Without me of course. By the look of the pictures on FB it was a great few days away.  It’s just a shame that I paid for all that food, (three meals a day, snacks, drinks etc), support, bicycle, accommodation and transport but never got to see anything.  I’m not sure what I will get back via travel insurance, we’ll see.  

Unfortunately I booked a few extra days on the end of the tour just to have a look around Hanoi again. I certainly would have preferred it if I was going home tomorrow. However this may give me a chance to shake off the last of the virus as I’d hate to be getting on the plane sick. Or worse taking it home to Wendy. 

Had a nice hot bath, did some washing before wandering upstairs for breakfast. The fruit was good but the rest tended to stick in my throat and bring on spasms of coughing, which doesn’t go over well these days. I sat as far from everyone as possible.  I do feel pretty bad still but the constant coughing is the worst part.  Don’t know why medical science can’t work out a way to stop it in its tracks. 

I decided not to go out at all today maybe that’s why I coughed last night. So I just relaxed, read my book, done some sudoku and slept.  About midday they rang to say my room, the third one (605, 806 & 705) was ready. They came and got me and helped carry my stuff.  Back to a small (normal) sized room without any external windows. At least I don’t have to move again until I leave on Tuesday morning.  

A bit of gear sorting helped to kill some time.  I’m praying really hard that tomorrow I will be improved, or at least stop coughing. 

About 6pm I suddenly felt very hungry so I ordered some room service, grilled chicken and rice with some bread. Didn’t get through it all but ate most of it. 

Day 17: Thu 23 Feb - Hanoi

           Temple on the lake

                  My room for one night 

           Temple entrance 

          My room 

            My room 

Part of the temple, I’d been there before (2010) so didn’t go in. 

Temp: 18 to 23C

Slept a little better last night but could hear myself coughing throughout the night, but it seemed like someone else’s cough.  Mucked about in my room until breakfast at 6:30am then went up to the 11th floor rooftop restaurant. 

Back to my room, more sleeping and taking it easy, just getting up for breakfast was a real chore.  

Felt like a wander around lunchtime so went to the nearby artificial lake which has a temple on it. Popular with the locals for getting pro-photographers to take a photo, there were dozens of them milling around.  After about 20 minutes I could feel myself waining so headed back via a corner store where I picked up a sandwich and some coconut water.  

By this time my new room was finally ready (due to a booking I had to move rooms for one day) .  It was a much bigger room with a small balcony, much better than staring at four walls all day.  Had my lunch and settled in, watched a building site across the street, about twelve stories, all being built with ropes and pulleys, not a crane anywhere. Although they do use them on the really big buildings. 

Couldn’t get the smart TV to work even though it’s the same as the one back home. The difference being the on-screen instructions are in Vietnamese. There’s a lot of rubbish on anyway and I bought a good book.  

Had a chat to Wens and then went to bed about 6pm.  

        Breakfast