It was pouring rain today when I got
out of my French class, so I decided to take the bus. I've gotten
used to the two buses that I can take back and forth from my
neighborhood to the French Institute, the #55 and the #31. I know
how to take both of them there, but I still have not figured out how
to take the #31 back to my apartment. The Hanoi buses are not
terribly transparent as far as information goes. The two buses that
I did figure out, I kind of just got there by trial and error. The
first day that I tried to take the bus, I ended up taking three buses
to get to where I needed to go when I could have taken just one, had
I been able to figure out the correct information. But I did learn
about how to get there. And it's really no big deal to just ride on
the buses for a while; each one costs about a quarter. Online, I have
not found any map or time schedule. If I click on the link for the
“schedule”, all I see are the bus numbers and a list of
neighborhoods that they go through. That is not terribly helpful for
someone who is not familiar with all of Hanoi's neighborhoods.
Google Maps has a list of bus stops, but many of them are incorrect.
I would consider taking my motorbike to
class, but parking is really difficult in the congested area where
the Institute is. There is a parking garage connected to the
Institute, but the cost is about the same as taking the bus both
ways, so I figure it is better to leave my bike at home rather than
let it sit downtown for a while. Maybe I'm just being overly
paranoid about that, but the bus is just a better solution for me
right now.
Eventually I am going to have to figure
out where to buy a tarp to cover my backpack with for when I am in
transit, in case it rains. I can probably go to the place I bought
my bike, Style Motorbikes, and they will most certainly either know
or sell them there. That place is a great resource. They will help
you plan routes, show up for assistance if you have an issue with
your bike, provide maintenance if needed, and generally provide all
kinds of support. They were recommended to me by a guy from Georgia
(the state in the US, not the country adjoining Russia) at the hostel
where I was staying, and he did not steer me wrong. He also turned
me on to the Facebook group where I found my apartment.
I found a place not too far from where
I am living where I can rent a keyboard for 25-30 dollars a month,
with a minimum of three months, and a delivery/set up fee of ten
bucks. I am tempted to do it, but probably won't. First of all, I'm
not going to be here for three more months. Second of all, there's
not much room in my apartment to set up a keyboard. But I might stop
by and check out the place. It would sure be nice to have a keyboard
in my place to play, and I have only played piano a couple of times
since I left the States. Maybe if I come back to Hanoi at some point
(which I may well do at a later time), I can keep it in mind.
I have to leave the country for at
least a day at the end of November to renew my visa. Well,
technically I don't really have to, I could renew my visa internally,
but that can be complicated and expensive. So leaving the country is,
for the most part, the easiest and cheapest way to get another visa.
I had just missed the new one-year visas that Vietnam has for US
citizens, which started on September 1. Just my luck, I got here on
August 31, and fell under the old deal, which was a 90 day visa. But
even the new one-year visas supposedly require you to leave the
country every three months. I say “supposedly” because the visas
are new and the rules are not terribly clear yet, and some people
seem to be able to help you figure out ways to get around many rules,
or find loopholes, in any case. Some folks just ride their
motorbikes across the border to Laos for a day or two, and then come
back. You can pretty much do that for years...some people live here
long-term and just take a short journey to another country every
three months. So I went to Skyscanner to see what would be the
cheapest place to fly to for a few days. The first place I found was
Malaysia, but I didn't jump on that right away, so I didn't get that
ticket. A few days later, I looked again, and at that time, flights
to Bangkok were the cheapest at the end of November. So I bought a
ticket, and Bangkok it is. I'll be there for five days, maybe that
is enough time to take a short trip somewhere in Thailand. But if
not, I'm not going to push it; I can just spend the five days
checking out the city. The hostel is only about five bucks a night,
so it is not like it will be super expensive or anything.
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