Day 67 - Cabin Fever in Hanoi and Australia Day Far From Home

Our first full day waking up in Hanoi started slowly. The kind of slow that isn’t lazy, but necessary.

Kia still wasn’t feeling great, so there was no rush to be anywhere. We stayed in, had oats and yoghurt we’d grabbed from Winmart the night before, made ourselves a coffee, and honestly felt pretty good about that small sense of normality. After weeks of eating out, having a simple, familiar breakfast in our own space felt grounding.

The morning drifted by. The kids watched some YouTube. We pottered around the apartment, sorting bags, checking budgets, moving money around, and once again looking at car hire options for Austria. We thought we’d locked something in, only to realise the price was listed in US dollars, not Australian. That little currency detail blew the budget out by about $700, which was frustrating. It meant more searching, more tabs open, more recalculating.

It was Australia Day back home. A strange feeling being so far removed from it. No backyard BBQs, no friends dropping by, no familiarity. We hope everyone back home had a great day and that the Triple J Hottest 100 was better than recent years, with less collective disappointment than usual.

The car wasn’t the only logistical headache. Ski gear has been another challenge. It’s been easy enough finding things for Kia and the kids, but for me, not so much. Anything in my size seems to be located well out of the way, mostly closer to Innsbruck than Vienna. Part of me doesn’t mind that. I’ve wanted to visit Innsbruck anyway, so it might just mean pulling that trip forward earlier than planned. Another thing added to the ever-growing list of moving parts.

Eventually, Kia decided she needed some new clothes. A casualty of earlier travel laundry mishaps meant most of her shirts had shrunk and were now sitting firmly in midriff territory, which she was less than thrilled about. The jeans she bought earlier were also too slim to layer thermals underneath, so something had to give.

There’s a shopping centre downstairs, so she ducked into Uniqlo while the kids and I stayed back. When she was almost done, she called us down to give an opinion. Everything she picked looked great, practical, and warm enough for what’s coming next.

From there, we found a salad bar for lunch called Tossful. Pesto chicken wraps, kombucha, and food that actually felt like what our bodies were craving. Everyone was genuinely happy eating it. Kia was hoping the kombucha might help settle her stomach, which has lingered since she got sick. For the first time in a while, lunch felt like a small win.

We went back to the apartment afterward to rest and kill some time before heading out again. The plan was to wander around the markets and find somewhere for dinner. The kids weren’t keen, but we pushed through anyway. In hindsight, maybe not our best call.

They’ve had a lot of cabin fever lately. Two weeks of sickness, a lot of time indoors, and now being back in another apartment while we sort logistics for the next move. It’s meant plenty of screen time and very little freedom, which doesn’t sit well with them, or us. We keep asking them to work with us, but it mostly falls on deaf ears. They’ve been bickering, snapping at each other, and the tension has been building. Kia being sick hasn’t helped either. It’s been a hard few days.

The markets themselves weren’t anything new. Busy, loud, and overwhelming. We also made the mistake of walking in the wrong direction, away from most of the food. Hanoi feels very segmented, with certain streets dedicated almost entirely to one thing. Hardware. Fabric. Food. Shoes. If you’re not in the right zone, you can walk a long way without finding what you’re after.

Eventually, we settled on an Indian restaurant. We asked for no spice, but there was definitely still some heat. The kids ate a bit but not as much as they would have otherwise. The naan was excellent. The rice was great. I enjoyed the meal, but I was sweating by the end of it.

That was about our limit.

After dinner, we pulled the pin. The kids were at each other, patience was thin, and Kia was exhausted. She needs proper rest every few hours at the moment, and the chaos just isn’t helping. We’re not giving the kids the freedom they need right now, and that’s feeding back into everyone’s mood.

It was a tough day overall. Not because anything went terribly wrong, but because recovery takes time, and travelling doesn’t pause while you heal.

Tomorrow is our last full day in Hanoi. The bags need to be packed, loose ends tied up, and we need to be ready for the onward flight. Hopefully, better health, more energy, and a lighter mood all round.

We’ll see what tomorrow brings.