Life This Week in Hanoi, Vietnam: Sep 14-20, 2026

Monday, Sep 14

Oh, today was a DOOZY!!!

I feel like I say that a lot.

Today was moving day, from Hanoi Airbnb #1 (be still my heart) to Hanoi Airbnb #2.

I had to check out of #1 by 11am…and could check into #2 after 2pm. So with some time to kill…and all my luggage to schlep around with me, I decided to sit downstairs in the cafe til around 12:30…then walk to a nearby hair spa for a $5 shampoo/condition/face wash/blowout. I never do things like this, but…when in Vietnam…

So, pampering, then lunch, then it would be time to check in at #2. But as I sat at the cafe it started raining. And the thought of walking around with two suitcases, my crossbody, the laptop bag, and in my other hand, an umbrella…in the rain was, shockingly, not appealing At All.

So I booked a spa sort of between #1 and #2, that would way I could have a grab take me Door to Door. Grab came, dropped me at spa, they took me right away even though I was early…and then I spent 60 minutes being scrubbed, rubbed, massaged, rinsed, and it was delightful. This one was a little more $ but included a borderline painful (!) neck and shoulder massage, and that waterfall head spa contraption (do they have those in the states? They’re all over asian social media – I’d wanted to do it when I was first in Korea but it was like $180). Anyway, it was all very nice. And then she blew my hair out Very Well. Better than most hair salons do.

But I didn’t even get to enjoy my soft, pretty hair because as I was leaving it was raining Quite Hard. The driver jumped out to grab my bags and the spa girl followed me out with an umbrella. And that was all fine.

But THEN. I don’t know if I put the address in wrong, or if the driver got it wrong, but…he dropped me at totally the wrong place (#dejavu). And drove away. In the now pouring rain.

#2 is in an alley, not directly on the street. And most smaller alleys have banner signs above them with their address on them. And I knew from the picture on Google Steet Maps that next to the alley entrance and the banner, was a big old tree whose roots were lifting up the sidewalk, big time. So when the driver stopped and pointed across the street, there was an alley entrance with a banner sign…and there was a big old tree buckling the sidewalk. So my many pieces of luggage and I marched confidently through the puddles towards the airb…wait.

This doesn’t look right. The airbnb host had sent me a video showing how to get to the building from the street, starting at the alley entrance with the banner sign. But this was not what was in the video.

I was already drenched…but I kept walking til I get to a spot where two buildings were so close together overhead they created a little protection from the rain. And I checked the video. Nope, this was definitely not right. So back out we marched to the street. And there was a small street food stall right there…and I asked the man grilling meat if he recognized the picture I showed him of the correct alley entrance and banner.

He thought a moment then started motioning his arm down the street, like “that’s way way way way way down there.” I asked through the translator if it was too far for me to walk in the rain with my luggage…he sort of shrugged and went back to his grill.

I was like okay, can’t have him burning his meat, I’ll just get another Grab.

But then he’s back…and goes “No Money, No Money,” and slaps himself on the chest and goes, “I’ll take you.”

AND HE POINTS TO HIS MOTORBIKE.

Now…okay. LAST week I rode on a motorbike and survived, but that was a clear, sunny day. AND I DIDN’T HAVE 150lbs OF LUGGAGE. I was like I don’t know…I’m afraid… but he just keeps going “I’ll do it,” and he goes and gets his motorbike off the sidewalk and pulls up in front of me. Puts my big suitcase on the bike, right behind the handlebars (is that what they’re called?), then he gets on behind that…then he points to me and pats the seat behind him…so I climb on (how? why? how?)…and then he points to my small suitcase on the ground and goes, “you.” So I lean down (GAHHH!) and grab the handle…the wet slippery handle…get myself as balanced and secure as I can…with the crossbody and the laptop bag hanging around my neck and shoulders and the carry-on dangling beside the rear wheel of the motorbike.

Mind you, no helmets are involved in the making of this mayhem.

And off we go.

Pay no mind to the unbalanced vehicle on the wet streets, we’re zipping and careening…we must have gone about a mile when I feel like I’m about to drop the carryon bag. It’s heavy, I’m unbalanced, my hand and the handle are wet and slippery…it’s pouring.

Finally I have to bop him on the shoulder with my somewhat free hand (the one that’s been holding onto him for dear life) and I’m like you have to stop! I’m going to drop the suitcase! And I can just see it dropping to the street right in front of a car that runs it over, killing two cameras, etc. But just then he whips into a driveway on the left…under an alleyway banner, next to a big tree…and just as he comes to a stop the carryon slips from my hand and falls face first into a puddle. But on the sidewalk thank goodness!

We’ve made it. I recognize the innards of the alley, the tattoo shop on the corner. I know I’m almost (new) home.

As he turns the bike around to get back out on the street, I’m trying to pull money out of my drenched bag to pay him. He’s like NO NO NO NO NO I’m like PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE and he rides off into the rain with me calling CAM UN (thank you) after him.

And my angel is gone. And I’m alive. And So Close now.

I get to my building, the code works on the 2nd try, I get inside to the elevator (yay elevator!), the code to my room works AND I’M IN.

I wanted to just collapse but first I want to get the drenched clothes I’m wearing, and all the clothes in my suitcase, into the washing machine (yay washing machine!). ChatGPT helps me figure out the Vietnamese washing machine…and the air conditioner remote…and then I collapsed!

It’s now 9pm. All I’ve eaten today was a croissant at the cafe at #1, but I don’t want to send a delivery driver out on his motorbike in the (still) pouring rain…and I’M certainly not going back out in it, so…I’ll just go to sleep soon.

And eat tomorrow.

How I wish I had some sort of video or photographs of us on the motorbike with all my suitcases in the pouring rain.

Tuesday, September 15

Today will be brief – you’re welcome. It poured all night, the weather forecast calls for 100% chance of rain every day this week (So Glad I extended my time here!), so I just didn’t make any effort to get up and out this morning. Today was supposed to be a coworking day but…with the heavy rain I didn’t relish the thought of being dropped at the ends of TWO alleys and having to walk through it…so I just stayed home and read.

I also slept very poorly last night. Who knows why. Too quiet? It’s VERY quiet here. I’m not a fan. Hard mattress? Slippery blanket that kept sliding off? Who knows. Fingers crossed tonight is better. And that there’ll be a break in the weather tomorrow and I can get out.

Wednesday, September 16

Well, it looks like I made a rookie mistake when deciding to extend my stay in Hanoi by two weeks – I Didn’t Check the Weather Forecast. And now it looks like rain here almost every day til I leave. And HARD rain. Flood-causing rain. And most of the things left on my “want to do” list are outdoor things. I’ll work around the drops as best I can…

Anyway, I went to the coworking space today (in the rain). And yes I take taxis everywhere – but I’m living in an alley now…and the coworking space is at the end of an alley…so in both cases I have to walk out to the main street and wait outside for the taxi. Tomorrow I’ll check out my street a little better – with all the rain I haven’t explored the area on foot At All…it looks like there’s a coffee shop just a little ways down. Maybe I can go there, order a coffee…then order my Grab from there so I have an indoor spot to wait.

It was nice going to coworking from a different place, I got to see new streets I haven’t seen before. It seems like there’s a big either military or maybe a president’s house or something, right nearby. There’s tons of what look like military police around that whole block and it’s surrounded by tall yellow stucco walls…oh, maybe googlemaps can shed some light…stay right there, I’ll be right back….

…ooh, between googlemaps and chatgpt I have discovered that it’s the Ministry of National Defense. I guess I feel…safe? Not that I didn’t already, but…

Anyway, nothing much to tell about today. All I did was work and read. And watch the rain out my window. My old place was much better for watching rainy days cuz there was more activity.

Thursday, September 17

Welp. Today it rained. A lot. All day. I stayed in and read and napped.

Friday, September 18

FINALLY. It’s not raining. Don’t know for how long so I got Up & Out post haste.

Went to breakfast in a not-too-far-away spot. A lot of cafes and restaurants have their seating on the second (and third) floor(s), with balconies so you can look down at the street view below while you eat. And while you know how much I love a good street view, I also love air conditioning. With the rain gone, the air was back to steamy and hot, so I opted for an indoor seat (still hot, but).

I find the eggs here are often undercooked…and my ick reflex Just Cannot. So I really have to pick through them for the well-done bites, which is a little unsatisfying.

When did I start having so many food icks??

I got the lemon ginger iced tea like I had that day after sweating buckets at the Temple of Literature. But while that was delightfully gingery with a hint of lemon – this was like lemon juice tea with barely any ginger. Still, it was icey.

Then off to coworking for the day.

After coworking I had the Grab drop me at the little market near my place so I couldn’t just plop down in the ac and never go back out – I NEEDED water. And some food for the apartment.

It was TEENY. Well, not teeny teeny. Probably about the size of an American 7-11…but with twice as many rows of shelves and people. So it was a little tough to navigate with my laptop backpack, shopping basket, and big belly :-\ I kept knocking things off shelves then struggling to bend down to the floor to pick them up. Ha. It was a bit of a mess. But I got a few staples – and a big bottle of water, and headed home, weighed down with computer and groceries.

THEN I plopped down in the ac. Immediately ate the bag of peanut M&Ms and rested until around 5:15 when I headed back out for a walk to Lantern Street.

Which was a delight. Crowded, but very charming and whimsical with lanterns in every shape and size. Honestly more sort of  “novelty” ones than I’d expected, but still.

I took pictures til I was drenched, then headed home.

I’m still really struggling with the new camera. It has SO many more setting options than my Canon system did, and they’re all buried inside one another, difficult to find, especially when reading small print is nearly impossible for me. And when I got home and downloaded the pictures to the computer I realized I literally cannot even “see” if pictures are in focus or not. Because nothing is in focus to me anymore. And I got really sad and cried a bit in WHY ME anger and frustration.

Am I going to lose “camera” photography?? The cell phone takes everything in focus, but offers no (real) selective focus or real separation where you want it. Or maybe I just don’t know all its tricks yet. But it’s very frustrating to have finally bought a new camera and not be able to use it well…and to keep reverting to the cell phone cuz at least I can SEE it.

Saturday, September 19

Recovery day from all I did yesterday! Ate cereal and ramen and drank all my water. Booked my bus to Hoi An for this coming Friday.

Sunday, September 20

Got fixated on my upcoming Korea trip today and spent a LOT of time arguing with both Google and ChatGPT about fall foliage calendars, apartment neighborhoods, garden reservations, etc. Somehow the whole day went by just doing that. Then I was starving and ordered a 7″ pizza AND popcorn chicken with potatoes and spicy cheese. And a giant bottle of water. And a coke.

And ate every bite.

And was happy.

One more week in Hanoi, then off to Hoi An!

See ya later luv ya bye!