Bueno continuo!

El trajecto a Vietnam fue espantoso.

Era un bus con puros hombres Vietnameses, nos miraban un monton y en la noche se acercaban a nosotros, pienso k mas por curiosidad k con maldad pero igual estuve con un ojo habierto y nerviosa todo el tiempo.

Fuimos tontas y nos quedamos sin dinero al subir al bus por k no ubo tiempo para ir al cajero y kedarnos una noche mas no era una opcion por el tema k no hay tiempo. Menos mal teniamos agua pero sin comida todo el camino!

Vietnam tiene una polucion impresionanate y creo k todo el mundo tiene problemas en el pecho. Los hombres estornudaban, tosian y escupiero n flema todo el camino pero mucho peor de todo FUMABAN EN EL BUS!! Bueno todos los k me conocen saben mis sentimientos sobre fumar en sitios publicos, estuive con la cabeza fuera de la ventana todo el camino pero bueno era igualoor respirar el cigarro y los microbios de los hombres o la polucion d ela calle. Mis pobres pulmones sufrieron! Y mi ropa y pelo horrible!!

Una vez en Da Nang, el conductor nos trato de vender a una compania k te lleva por Vietnam en moto, todos nos gritaban k nos suvieramos a las motos, casi nos atropellaban, segiamos sin dinero, no nos entendiamos , cansadas, sucias finalmente nos hicieron caso y nos llevaron hasta Hoi An como habiamos pagado en bus.

Fue un cointraste increible. Empezando con el hotel, teniamos banera-la primera desde k sali de londres!! Agua caliente, tele, cama limpia y grande. Lo primero k hice fue poner toda mi ropa k tenia puesta a lavar, pedir una pizza y meterme a la banera!! El agua quedo negra!

Me vesti, comi y a la cama!!

Ya al proximo dia cuando verifique k no tenia SARS ni la enfermedad de los pollos locos nos fuimos andando al centro con una llovia torrencial pero tenemos chaquetas de agua. Bueno me hecho un traje a medir k te mueres, todos van a pelearse por darme trabajo cuando regerese a londres con mi nueva pinta!! Un pantalon, falda y chaqueta por $120, no es poco pero me midieron a la 1 y las 6 me lo estaba probando! Es como gris/negro y sebe super bien, lo tendre k mandar a casa por fed ex.

Hoi An tambien tiene un toce de hippie, muchos cafes, restaurantes ect....

Me hize amiga de un Vietnamese Minh y me invito a su tienda a tomar 'snake wine' Vino de serpiente, tomamops 3 chupitos, me dio naranjas, estuvimos un rato con el hablando de Vietnam y de su familia y despues nos llevo a un bar a tomar vino de arroz-Bueno despues de todo ese alcohol tenia fuego en el estomago y nos sentamos a comer.

Me encanto compartir y poder hablar con algien del pais!!! Se not ak estamos en un páis communista, hay mucha propaganda k en el pasado solo e visto en libros de historia, muchas tienen fotos de Lenin o de Che. Vanderas rójas por todos lados-papi te encantaria!!

Por la lluvia nos fuimos de Hoi An antes de tiempo a camino a Saigon!!

Pero Hoi An muy bien, pequeno, limpio (un alivio despues del autocar!!) Pero ya estoy en Saigon donde es una historia muy diferente!!

Bueno hay los dejo!!

Chaooo Carol xxxx

ps. Tio edu: no hay k tenerle miedo a estos paises (ni a Chile tampoco). El miedo de verdad viene de lo k es desconozido, Seguro k en Barcelona no te sientes con temor y yo me siento muy segura en Londres k la verdad en una locura con el peligro k hay ahi!! Me doi cuenta k la mayoria de la gente en el mundo son buenos como nosotros, hay k tener ojo por supuesto pero nunca dejar de hacer cosas o visitar sitios o sino terminaremos muy grises y aburridos!! xx

Alright guys!

Onto the nightmare bus journey to Vietnam...Anyone who think s im on 'holiday' read on.....

We had to go back to Laos' capital Ventiene which we hated the firts time round so really didnt want to spend the night here!! We went from Louang Prabang at 6.30 am to Ventiene in the hope of getting a bus from ventienne to Vietnam that evening at about 7pm, bearing in mind that it takes 10 hrs from Louang Prabang to Ventiene so we were cutting it fine.

This time we were on a buis with only 2 other backpackers, tons of rice, livestock & locals. The screatching at the curves was worse & the bus was actually overtaking vehicles?!? Lots of locals threw up, that made me feel a bit dodgy so I gave the death sandwich a miss this time!

We got to Ventiene in time to get the coach to Da Nang (24hrs!) but no time to go a cashpoint. I manages to pay 1 1/2 bus tickets, so mine and a abit of Julies with some dollars that I had & we made a deal with driver that we would pay him the rest once we got to Vietnam & a cashpoint. So we where facing a 24 bus journey (after just having being on a 10hr one!) with no money!!

We where the only females on the bus amongst about 15 Vietnamese men. They kept staring at us with toothpicks in their mouths, I think it was more curiousity rather than malice but unnerving nontherless. I went to the very back as it was free and lied down, about an hr later I felt a foot on my back, a man was lying down literally centimetres below me on the floor with his foot rubbing my back.....

I thought this cant be right. I know these people dont follow those rules of personal space, like in London if you even brush passed soemone you immidiately apologise but sticking your foot on someones back is something else. I shot upright & went to the window corner, he got the message though & moved himself.

Vietnam is unbelievably polluyted & all these people unknowlingly to them have chest problems, the whole way the men sneezed (without covering their faces of course) coughed up phlegm continously & kept spitting out the windows or into bags & you know what a horrible noise people bringing up phlegm makes!!

However for me the icing on the cake was when they started smoking on the bus!!! I have completely intolerant towards smoking & I swear I cannot take smoke in enclosed spaces, so I had to open the window & breathe the freezing night air which was pretty much the same given the fume belching vehicles of Asia. I kept sticking my jumper over my nose but that stunk of fags anyway so I was pretty much screwed!.

I didnt really get off the bus on the stops as it was too cold, didnt have money for food anyway, only once to use an asian style toilet...with a duck standing & quaking next to me... DO NOT ASK!

We got to teh border at about 6.30 am, we were asleep & by then they had stopped so much that we didnt even bother looking upo. Naturally the driver forgot about us even though we had been stared at the whole time, so we literally got dragged to immigration quick...quick get stamped! Its not quick for us though, as foreigners they really inspect your passport & visas an das backpackers obvioulsy we must be trafficking drugs so we had a dog smell our luggage & had to go through an x ray machine.

I dont know why but I was crapping myself! I had images of being dragged off & being stuck in prison like Bridget Jones minus the comedy element & gorgeous Colin Firth coming to my rescue but thankfully im still free!!!

We finally got to Da Nang so we were only an hr away from Hoi An. We had paid to Hoi An so we couldnt understand why were being dragged off the bus. They put Julie on a motobike with who I can only describe as Freddie Kruger, the man had obviously been involved in a horrific accident of some sort, we finally understood that it was to get money to pay for the rest of the ticket, they were trying to get me on aswell though when I had already paid?!? We now know that he was trying to sell us to a motorbike company that take tourists round Vietnam by moped (its the middle of the rainy season here so that would not be fun!)

Anyway we stood our ground though but we had to sperate amidst the madness of the shouting, traffic, ringing mobiles... I stayed at the station with the bags 7 Julie went on the bike to get cash...whatever happened we would meet at the station... that was our deal!

I was put back on the bus with 2 blokes & a vietnamese bird who I think was a prostitute & they started driving away!! I was like 'hey! where we going!!" They signalled that they were turning the bus around but then we got on a main road... I was trying to get our bags (unsuccessfully) & signalled that i was getting off, they were laughing, saying dont worry we're going back, they tried tio explain what the plan was but we couldnt understand each other.

We went to a nearby garage to pick up an engine, I stayed on the bus when one (the one they were trying to get me on) of the moped guys who had been at the station amidst the confusion came on the bu s& told me that Julie was on her way to Hoi An already & that I should just go with him now, I said no but he insisted that Julie had gone.

Finally I got back to the station & Julie was still not there, I actually wandered if she had left me but i thought no way because that wasnt the plan. Eventually she got back, clearly scarred from her nightmare ATM journey, they had been saying the same to her that I had gone to Hoi An on the bike. We got pissed off & demanded a bus to Hoi An as we had initially paid for. So we got it!

The hotel we stayed in that night was like a dream! It actually had a bath! The first bath ive seen since i left the UK. I swear the water was balck after I got out, I really scrubbed the fags & pollution off myself. Then we got room service (pizza!) & watched telly for the rést òf the night in our clean, airy room!!

Anyway despite that Hoi An was really nice. Again full òf travellers, cafes, red flags, communist slogans, pictures òf Che & Lenin around-my dad would love it here! I got a suit tailor made tôo! A skirt, trousers & jacket soo not me but im going to inevitably have to return to that life òf jobs & careers at some point : (

We met a really cool Vietnames guy called Minh, he invited us into his house at the back òf hís shop, I had snake wine with him, 3 shots, he spoke of hís family & love of England (footie) then he took us to a bar to meet his mates & we had some rice wine- I swear i felt like my stomach was on fire & gave the rice wine a miss, but it was soo nice chatting to a local about things other than directions or tours!

We've since got on a train (18hrs) to Saigon which they call Ho Chi Minh. Theres loadsa thing sI want to do herere, the war museum & the underground war tunnels where the Vietnamese used to shield themselves from the american bombs whcih rained upon them, poeple we've met say ít amazing but shocking all at once.

We're back to pollution, heat & the trafic.... I cant describe, crossing the road here ís like suicide, there deoesnt seem to be any sort òf pattern or control, mopeds come at you in all directions even on the pavement!!! I swear I have trouble crossing the road in england so im really struggling!

Anyway other than almost getting run over a few hundred times haventy really done much here, just arived this morning so I'll leave it for now. Tomorrow Im going to the war museum, I cant wait to get a clearer understanding tò what these poeple went through with the Americans & to think that it wasnt that long ago ís amazing to me but I'll bore you with that another day! Im finally up to date!!

Miss you all tons

Caz xx