It's early in the morning and John is going to see if we have been given visas to get into China. When I say 'we' of course I don't include myself as everyone knows that parrots aren't subject to border controls (unless you are tying to smuggle some live ones in your luggage) and in any case there wasn't a place to put any pet parrots details on the visa form.
It's a drawn out process getting a visa. Hop into a taxi to get to the Embassy. Fill in the forms, take another taxi and come back 3 days later to be given a bit of paper. Jump on the back of a motorbike to go the Bank of China coincidentally 50m from where the family are staying, pay some US$, get a receipt, hop back on the motorbike, Rush to the embassy, hand in the receipt and get the passports! Phew - visas all approved.
John heads to the railway station to improve his already impressive advanced level 'demonstrating patience in a queue' skills. Buying a cross border train ticket requires lots of forms, all hand written, with separate forms for everyone and lots of other customers pushing up to the window asking questions and interrupting the form filling ticket officer. Getting the visa was the easy part.
The family have scored a late, 4pm check out from their 4 bedroomed home of homes and head to the Vietnam Army Museum, which has lots of information about wars and a great collection of captured American planes. Good to see some other things that can't fly! There is a collection of school children's artwork and John snaps a photo of one with lots of Doves on it, which Grandma Maggie would have loved.
After a final swim it's 4pm and time to leave Hanoi. Er, but the train isn't till 9pm. Does John know something the rest of the family don't? No. He just wants to perfect his 'patience when waiting 4 hours in a steamy airless dirty uncomfortable waiting room" skills.
All too soon, it's time to get on the train. It doesn't have seats - it has beds, and a really neat hat rack that I can perch on. 4 of the family and me in one compartment, almost overcome by the smell of Lucys' sandals, John safe next door.
No sooner have they fallen asleep then the family are woken up again by the guard, have to bring all their bags into a waiting room and give their passports to the Vietnamese border police. I miss all of this as I'm fast asleep in a suitcase.....
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