homeless in hanoi

welcome to introspection ft. harsehaj! ⭐️ i’m harsehaj, a 19 y/o always up to something in social good x tech.

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onto today’s topic: homeless in hanoi 🧍‍♀️

you guys probably think i’ve had a terrible time in vietnam based on these past few posts, but i just finished biking the ha giang loop and it was one of the best experiences in my life.

the locals are so kind, the scenery is unreal and the food is absolutely delicious, but more on that in a later post. i still have yet to complete my thailand reflection — i’m backlogged. 😭

it was 6pm yesterday when i finished the ha giang loop and returned to the tour agency’s office. they assured all of us that a hostel had been booked for us in hanoi as a part of the tour package and i was chilling. we arrived in hanoi via their private bus around 1am and i had a short 8 minute walk to the hostel carrying my big backpack and suitcase. no problem!

i pull up to the reception desk with the others and they get checked in just fine. now its my turn and i’m met with, “hello! i know you have booked a room, but unfortunately the hostel is completely full.”

bro, what? 😐

so, i was turned away with no compensation or even another hostel to stay at. it’s 1:30am at this point, and i can’t even book anything online because it’s technically the next day. i can’t backtrack and say i’d like to book a room for march 8-9, because it was already the 9th. anything i booked now would be for the upcoming night, not the one i was currently undergoing.

now what? well, i spent an hour walking from hostel to hostel asking, “do you have any beds available right now?” 7 rejections and walking around the drunk people and motorcycle infested hanoi streets while lugging my baggage later, i was near tears and booked a taxi to the airport. ✈️

i had nowhere to sleep. i just decided i would leave my luggage at the airport since my flight was the later in the evening, and stay up all night. i contemplated staying at a 24/7 pc café … trust me this was the better last resort. in the taxi, i decided to give it one last shot and found the whatsapp number of a hotel near the airport. all of the hostels i was hopping between earlier weren’t on whatsapp so i had no choice but to walk over and ask. 😭

i sent the guy a desperate text, and hoped for the best.

praise the LORD the hotel guy answered within minutes. i saw the his reply begin with “sorry…” and my heart sank to the floor of the cab. don’t lose all hope though! he said there was still availability in their 2nd hotel which was right beside the one i was inquiring about. i made a (very sketchy) booking over whatsapp and asked my driver to change the destination.

i pulled up at 3am, checked in (THANK YOU HIGHER ENTITY), appreciated my massive room and knocked out immediately. 😴

what a time!

i had some bomb tiramisu in the morning though so everything is all good and i am loving life!

daily opportunity + resource drops 🔍️