It was 06:30 when the low light of the jungle sun crept into my hotel window. I rose from the bed, threw some clothes on, and headed downstairs to see if they still had last year’s coffee floating around. I poured two glasses (the first probably wouldn’t make it up the stairs) and ordered two omelets with baguettes to be delivered to my room. I blew the dust off my first cup of joe, took an imbittered sip, and headed back. I stopped down the hall from my room and took in the view from my hotel for the last time.
I began to pack my things and check my reservations for my flight to Hanoi. I wasn’t sure how domestic travel in Vietnam would work, so I wanted to give myself plenty of time to absorb any unforeseen complications.
Within minutes, there was a knock at the door. Breakfast had arrived, and my stomach was in much need of some sustenance. By 07:30, I had drained the restaurant’s coffee pot of its contents and was hoping they’d brew a pot from this decade. I could see by the curious look of the waitress behind the bar that my coffee consumption was unmatched in this city of Dragons.
By 8:30, I had showered and packed. I headed to the front desk to retrieve my passport and settle my bill. I walked out of the hotel past the busy workers hanging banners and setting up decorations for the coming New Year’s celebrations. It was the tail end of the monsoon season, but I had been lucky in that it had mostly sunny skies since my arrival. however, Today the monsoon let the city know it was still alive and well. The taxi driver loaded my luggage, and we sped off into the rain-soaked streets.
I was headed to see my new friend Bào. He would keep an eye on some of my luggage as I headed north for the next 5 days. He greeted me at the gate of his apartment building with a big, friendly smile. He seemed very excited to have a friend from America. His first, he made sure to tell me repeatedly. Not much was said beyond typical morning greetings. I think we were all still groggy from last night’s activities. I placed my excess baggage in front of his apartment, climbed back into the taxi, and headed for the Airport.
Driving through the rain with motorbikes covered with ponchos, Da Nang took on an appearance more closely resembling what my mind had envisioned. We drove past its crisscrossing bridges which give the city its nickname, city of bridges, and pulled into the Airport. We were very early, so we sat at a cafe, and I used this time to catch up on some writing.
As I finished, my charging cable caught fire, Diem reacted quickly as she so often did, and I transcended this world. Comforted by the woman who would become my wife, I sat in a still hazy, jet-lagged daze in the cafe. It’s hard to recover from a flight to the other side of the world without rest. I would be getting some soon, as Hanoi would be a much more manageable pace. At least, that’s what I thought. A cafe worker came by and watered the tropical plants that sat next to me. As I sat in a perpetual haze, not much different from the dreary view out the window before me, time seemed to melt away. It ceased to have meaning or purpose. I stared into oblivion and was transported to a place hard to explain. I had no function, nowhere to go, no place I needed to be. There was only the cosmos. For this moment in time, I just simply was.
