I arrived in the international departure zone of Hanoi airport about four and a half hours before my flight, which had been delayed (as well as having undergone a slight timetable change) by 50 minutes. I was through security in less than 2 minutes to find the terminal to be a ghost town and almost creepy. There wasn't a single person there, every gate was empty of people and the shops were lit up but silent. I had no problem changing my clothes in the toilet because no-one was there, except for a cleaner who duly appeared. Obviously, I could have done this in the lounge but I just wanted to get it out of the way while it was quiet.



General view of the Vietnam Airlines Lotusmiles lounge at Hanoi airport HAN


The Vietnam Airlines lounge was a pleasant place to while away a long layover, mainly because there were very few people!

I made my way up to the Lotusmiles Lounge, which was immediately beside gate 28, from where the flight to Paris would depart later on towards midnight. The entrance staff were pleasant enough but neither English nor French language skills were their strong points. The lounge was devoid of people so I used the opportunity to take some pictures. At the entrance attractive yellow and red decorations signified the ongoing Tet new year celebrations. The lounge consisted of a medium sized space with dining table type seating and typical lounge type seating (those seats look so uncomfortable that I hardly ever want to sit on them). In one corner there were a couple of comfortable loungers which could be used for sleeping. The far "wall" of the lounge was in fact a huge glass window looking down into the terminal and gate 28 in particular. There was a small business center with printers and a separate area for Million Milers, presumably the Vietnam Airlines equivalent of Flying Blue Ultimate. Lastly, showers were available in the toilet section.



The food offering in the Vietnam Airlines lounge was not amazing, but the quality was reasonably good

In terms of food,there was a wide variety of Vietnamese and European items. Everything was overseen by staff with great care about hygiene. There was a soup noodle corner where I had my last Pho Ga, chicken with noodles. I learned the hard way that chilis in northern Vietnam are far stronger than those in the south! The fresh fruit, vegetable and salad options were not that imaginative but better than nothing. There were also rice dishes, curry and sweet options. The drinks area consisted of a large series of fridges and you just helped yourself to what you wanted. The wine was truly undrinkable and I quaffed far too many of those Bia Saigon and 333 tins (think in the double figures!). At least, the time went past surprisingly quickly, but the lounge filled up until it was bursting, unfortunately.



There were a few recliners in the Vietnam Airlines lounge where you could sleep between flights