Good Morning Vietnam!

I vouch every blog from this part of the world starts like this, so I'm going to be original and go with the majority. Vietienne is far from interesting....but the food is outstanding! For me, this might have been enough to stay a little longer, but the Vietnam Embassy where clinical in gettting the visa dates changed so we had good reason to bail Laos early. Our lasting impression of the country was fond mind...the peole are charming and always willing to flash you a smile...just a shame there is so little to see and do! A vast amount of Laos is still very much out of reach to tourists from a safety perspective, which is a shame, but as as developing nation its only a matter of time before new places to explore are unearthed.

When faced with the decision of taking the flight to Hanoi or the 24 hour bus,it honestly didn't take long to make up our minds. Having assumed the identity of "flashpackers", the $130 paid for a flight seemed money well spent, especially as neither of us could face another nightmare bus journey on suspect roads, not to mention the stories recountered by fellow travellers about dodgy border issues and equally wary driving. What we didn't account for was Laos Airlines dubious safety record. Our twin propeller aircraft (yes, they still exit), with neon coloured interior and chairs that double as your life jacket, was an experience..one that Suze would rather forget so I'll move on. Thankfully we arrived safely in Hanoi..a mere 1 hour in the air....

First impressions of Hanoi? Bedlam! Okay, so London traffic is slow and pedestrian, motorists shackled by numerous traffic lights and the b****** conjestion charge (cheers Ken!)...but imagine the complete opposite, and you have Hanoi. The traffic moves all at once, moped jostle with 4x4s, buses, pick up trucks and cyclists for a square inh of road...no one indicates...the traffic lights are simply ignored...yet still people wander across the roads quite freely without getting hit. You see, the traffic moves like shoals of fish...and pedstrians are merely swerved as they make their way across. Took us both a while to work this out...horns are constantly blaring, but you can't figure out what exactly their honking at. The cab drivers steering wheel from the airport was worn out on the right hand side...funnily enough where the horn was. Don't think his hand left it for the duration of our journey to the hotel....

Understandably, Suze found the constant noise, and swerving moped riders a bit of a head ache, and Hanoi can test yuour patience. The only solace we could find was in the Le Pub bar supping Anchor Vietnam beer and listening to past classics by Oasis, Stone Roses and Gomez (fond memories came flooding back of uni days fighting with Macca and Paul over washing up duties before getting leathered in the union bar) . To escape, we booked up our trip to Halong Bay the following morning. Some 2000 tour operators alone in Hanoi, copyright infringement is ignored, so they all name themselves after the same thing...I counted 12 Siam Cafe Tours in one morning...they don't really do innovation here. Halong Bay is the most popular tour on offer, but with scams being rife we did our honmework beforehand and opted for the expensive option. Simply a question of safety..we'd read nightmare accounts of the some boats at the cheaper end actually sinking or drifting aimlessly in the mist with little food and tourists having to sleep on deck. The guesthouses all offer the same tours but are merely middlemen who stick asn extra commision on top. You have to be savvy over here, which I'll mention later.

We had half a day mind to take a walk round the Hiem Lake, visit the museum of fine arts (yes, you read that right, I'm trying to educate myself and give up my diet of tabloid trash!) and catch a Water Puppet show that was quite amusing and worth the money (compared to the Laos Ballet, which cost twice as much). We appeared to migrate to the American tourists route as well, so have an excess of white socks/trainer/chino short combos dotted in our pics...a job for photoshop when we get home.

Halong Bay is some 3 hours away, a rude 8am start but the most comfortable minibus we've experience in Asia...should be for the priuce we paid! The tours all consist basically of a night on a sailing "junk", a converted cargo vessle, sailing around the bay. Our junk was seriously 5 star, a cabin that comes second to our room in the Royal Orchid back in Bangkok with reference to luxury, and the food was a revelation. The company of 10 people was a bit on the quiet side...during our trip to the Titot cave and post dinner in the evening was strained for conversation, but pleasant enough. Halong Bay is also stunning...some 200 limestone crops jutting out of the sea. Value for money, it was steal...but this was in sharp contrast to the overnight train down to Hue the following evening. We shared the "1st class" berth with two randoms, a nice couple from Sailsbury, but in such confined space it was a little too much for us both. Neither snored mind, so the 12 hours was actually quite bearable...though the standard of Vietnams Rail compared to the price (a princely $41 each!) leaves a lot to be desired...a pity those in 2nd class, with 6 bunks per berth!

Hue was..how can I put it..."pleasant". The trek up Le Loi road to the guesthouses from the station broke us, and our spirit was a little diminished so we didn't really give it a fair crack of the whip. The citadel is quite nice, but also quite run down...and you get charged for every last thing you want to see. And there lies the problem we've encountered with Vietnam. The people here are hard. Whereas in Thailand your bartering amounts to a differnce in pence, here it amounts to pounds. A white western face will get quoted 4 times the price...a price that's never published of course. For every 1 genuienely nice Vietnam resident, there are 10 others out to lie and fleece you...no one ever has any change either (not for Dong or Dollar). ...and this is what breaks your spirit. You tire of having to forever be checking your change or aggresively bartering anything down by 90%..even water! We both find ourselves moving down through Vietnam with increasing pace to Hoi Chi Minh City and a route out of the country. Thankfully, having left Hue for Hoi An we've bumped into, as if by fate, Sally and Rob our Aussie friends and we now feel re-energised. As a foursome, you feel safer and more open to the scams and con artists you have to encounter as soon as you wake up. Whilst in Hoi An, Suze has alreAdy decked herself out in a tailor made coat for a mere 20 quid and we've got a nice parcel of gifts ready to ship home...but we're already booked to travel another 12 hours down the country to be reunited with our Aussie travel buddies in Nua Chang where we hope to take in a little island hopping and scuba diving.

I can't see us being here till the end of our Visa's on the 12th March..this country is too westernised and a product of rapidly developing urbanisation that stifles what charm it still has (not to mention the people), and come HCMC we're looking at either a return to south Thailand to discover the west coast islands, or onto Singapore to hit Oz early. For now, I can only think as far ahead Villas game to Chelsea this weekend that will no doubt define our season, so till we blog again..enjoy the photos...and up the mighty claret and blue of Birmingham!

Much Love

Mike and Suzex

p.s I'm updating this as we've arrived in Nue Trang..at 5am. The bus blew a puncture en route...but the driver merely shrugged his shoulders at 3am this morning...and carried on driving. Hotel haven't got our room ready yet, so we've been given the "servants" quarters to crash in cause we're knackered. There is a rat swimming in the toilet bowl. I can't sleep after seeing that..hence I'm here. Roll on Oz!!!!!!!!!