Part 66: On the road south..
Hanoi so far had been an amazing experience and I could quite have easily stayed a few more days. I found the people extremely welcoming and friendly, even if communications were sometimes challenging with English not being widely used here.
We explored this authentic city, overflowing with culture, mainly on foot, which unless you brave the tidal-wave of scooters and motorbikes, is definitely the best way to see it. The result was an unforgettable experience filled with random happenings, you will more than likely get lost, or inevitably rip your hair out trying to cross the roads, but you will thoroughly love Hanoi.
My stay was made even better by the new friends I'd met; in particular Martin and Jack. As is always the case though, everyone eventually moves on to the next destination. Martin moved on to Kuala Lumpur, but in this instance, Jacks path was uncannily similar to mine.
We both agreed to head south to Ho Chi Minh City by road together; a distance of more than 2000 km - the same distant from England to Italy! There are a number of destinations on the way and we agreed to keep our plans fluid, lending even more excitement to our adventure.
I waved a sad farewell to my good friend Martin after a delicious Vietnamese egg coffee, wishing him all the very best on his travels, that would eventually lead him to Australia to reunite with a girl he'd fallen for on his journeys; I would definitely miss him.
But for me and Jack, our tour of Vietnam was just the beginning. We booked the long over night sleeper bus south to Hue which would take a gruelling 14 hours (not even a third of the way to Ho Chi Minh) This was definitely a first for me and I was a little apprehensive at spending so much time on a bus.
In Jack though, I did have good company once more, ensuring that this would be a decent laugh if nothing else.
We had the whole day to prepare for the mammoth trip and would be leaving at 9pm later that evening. There was a little more sightseeing to be had in Hanoi for the meantime, and we pondered around for something to do.
Jack mentioned he wanted to visit the Hoa Lo prison, in the old French District so we headed there on foot in the drizzling rain. Walking out of the central city was a decent experience especially after a few blocks, the streams of backpackers and tourists disappeared. Funny how nearly all of them stick to the same areas.
We passed a few local markets, neighbourhoods, and plenty of French influenced buildings until we reached the prison.
The name 'Hoa Lo' roughly translates as 'hell hole' but is more commonly known as the infamous Hanoi Hilton. First used in 1886 by the French when they colonised Vietnam, and imprisoned thousands of political prisoners in barbaric conditions.
I was definitely not an advocate of anyone colonising countries at any stage in history even though some would argue against that.
There is definitely an eeriness to this place, and once you walk around inside you fully understand why. The French were uncompromising in torturing and murdering the Vietnamese, who's only crime was to seek independence.
The guillotine room in particular was a horrific place. Especially with the pictures of severed heads on the wall, displayed like trophies by the French.
The window-less cells used for solitary confinement with the walls and ceilings painted black were no less gruesome. Here the captives spent years chained to the floor in horribly claustrophobic conditions. You could truly sense the dark history here, especially when half naked mannequins of prisoners wearing nothing but rags, with their ankles shackled to stocks were portrayed in realistic detail.
Years later in WW2 it housed American prisoners of war who according to the exhibit, received decent and humane treatment whilst in captivity. Its hard to say if this actually was the case with several conflicting reports suggesting the opposite.
Nowadays most of the prison block has been demolished, leaving just enough behind to give us a stark insight into its history.
We both left the 'Hanoi Hilton' in a somewhat sombre mood having learned of all the suffering here - it was hard not to be effected by the images and surroundings.
With or without propaganda, I felt at least it was an insightful, if not harrowing look into Vietnams past.
On the way back we picked up a few snacks for the bus journey, then for the first time since I arrived in Vietnam both me and Jack were 'ripped off' when we stopped in a local cafe for food.
The fact there were no prices on the menus should have been enough warning, but we let our stomaches over rule our heads and probably ended up paying triple the amount of what we had been used too. I made a mental note not to fall for that again!
We got back to the hostel early evening, but sadly my stay there was somewhat tainted by the untimely theft of my sunglasses, insect repellent and all the other items I left on my bedside shelf.
The manager offered to compensate me, taking nearly 50% off the final bill. Even if it barely covered the cost of my items, so I just wrote it off as one of those things that inevitably happens at hostels. Still it was a decent enough gesture from him.
We were now organised and packed and all that was left to do was wait for the bus to Hue now. There were a few last minute doubts after a conversation with two German girls who said they'd never get a bus again after telling us about their bad experiences, strongly advising we opt for the train instead.
But we remained determined to see it through one way or another.
Not long after, the transport mini bus showed up dead on 8.30pm to take us to the bus terminal. There was barely enough room for our backpacks let alone me and Jack, yet we somehow managed to squeeze in. Amazingly we weren't done yet, picking up 4 more passengers on the way!! I seriously hoped this wasn't a taste of things to come for us
The rain was still hammering it down, but apparently the weather forecast in Hue was in the 90's - almost back to what i'd been used to in the Philippines, which was fine by me; especially Jack who was quick to remind me how in need of some sunshine he was.
Luckily the cramped ride was only a short one, till we were dumped off by the side of a road, where there were several other busses, and scores of people waiting. It was noticeably chaotic with very little organisation at this moment in time - quite a few people appeared stressed out, giving a couple of young bus reps some real grief. Eventually it all calmed down and after a fair bit of confusion, me and Jack made our way onto our sleeper bus, which happened to be just as chaotic on board.
The driver handed me a plastic bag and spoke to me in Vietnamese pointing at my shoes. What he was trying to say was to take them off, but just before I sussed out what he was trying to tell me I accidentally stood on the carpet with my wet shoes, then yelled at me in-front of everyone; he was not happy.
The condition of the bus was certainly not the best either, nor did it look anywhere near as good as the pictures we were shown when we purchased the tickets.
It was basically made up of rows of bunk beds, that instead of sitting in a normal bus position, you sit with your legs straight, and the seat tilts back almost horizontally. Your legs fit in a plastic 'coffin' like shell tucking behind the persons reclined seat in front of you.
Now the problem was that my legs didn't even come close to fitting into the coffins, which are clearly not designed for large westerners.
And if that wasn't uncomfortable enough, the seats where really narrow with nowhere to put your hand luggage, apart from laying it on top of you.
I then spent a few minutes wriggling around trying to organise myself and get as comfortable as I could, which sadly for me, wasn't really happening.
So It would appear like we where in for one long, uncomfortable journey.
But there was no sense in moaning, unlike some of the other passengers, because like it it not, this was as good as it was going to get for 14 long hours.
Next stop, Hue......