After a very long trip, I finally disembarked in Da Nang. Getting through customs was a breeze and the authorities handed my passport back with its newly fastened entry Visa almost as fast as I handed it to them. The longest wait was waiting for and trying to figure out whose duct-taped boxes were ours. The flight was full of them. Apparently, everyone else going home did the same thing. We weighed everything and exited the airport. Our traveling companions were waiting outside with some extra large taxis for our ride to the Hotel.
We darted through the narrow, busy streets of Da Nang as a sea of motorbikes honked and whizzed around us in every direction all at once. It was only a 15-minute ride to the Saigontourane Hotel. We pulled in, and the doorman and porters took our packages and bags. I retrieved a single room key from the front desk and had to relinquish my passport. I was unhappy with this as I would be entirely at the mercy of Vietnam. I had no reason to bring my driver’s license, so I would be wandering in a very foreign country without any identification. My fellow travelers and our hosts assured me that this was how things were done here. After heavy consideration, I capitulated, and we headed for our rooms on the 3rd floor.
Upon initial entry to the room, the electricity seemed to not be working. No lights at all, T.V., nothing. Diem came in a bit later and showed me my problem. One key per room! When you enter, the room key must be inserted in a holder by the door. This creates a circuit and turns on the electricity. This is to ensure nothing is running while you are away. Nothing.
The room was nice but bare. Faux wood floors, open windows with no screens. It does have a small flat screen, but I don’t think I’ll be turning it on. I took a lukewarm shower, not by choice, shaved, and cleaned up from a day’s worth of flying. It was about 08:00 a.m. when I finally, clean and refreshed, lay on the bed and began to close my eyes. Would it be possible to sleep some of this jet lag away? Indeed, everyone else was feeling as exhausted as I was, I thought to myself as I began to fall into a deep sleep uncontrollably. There was a knock at the door.
