A parody

Lets say for example, that me, all the watford boys and all the lads from uni decided to spend New Years together in Scotland 600 miles away. What we would need is a coach. But to justify the cost of the coach, we would have to fill it. so what we would do (as evidently the Vietnamese do), is fill the other half of the bus with stupid looking Tourists who will pay us good money to spend 26 hours travelling from the bottom end of Cornwall, to the top of Scotland. The beauty of it is you see, that us lads at the front would be drinking, stopping for toilet breaks, blaring drum n bass and having a grand ole sing-along, whilst the poor bewildered tourists at the back got no sleep, didnt get off the bus incase it left without them, and clung on to their belongings for dear life!!!

for the last day or so, I was a stupid tourist who got dragged along for the ride. Survived it though! And i didnt get shot going through the Vietnamese border which is always a bonus.

So i am now in Hanoi which is by far the busiest and loudest city Ive been to so far. The traffic and noise was a culture shock in Bangkok, but this place is on the next level!! Complete lawlessness and chaos, where crossroads have no traffic lights, and the only way it appears you are able to warn other motorists of your presence is to beep, beep and BEEP! Its good fun on the back of the moped taxis though.

On tuesday I took a visit to the Hanoi Hilton, a prison, which is where French collonialists kept Vietnamese freedom fighters, and also where the Vietnamese kept U.S pilots who had been shot down in the war including John McCain who is curently running for president. What was funny though, was that the pictures of the American soldiers kept there in the 1960's shows them playing cards, chess, billiards, even cooking Christmas dinner for themselves, when the reality was more like they were close to becomming Christmas dinner for the wardens! Pure propaganda is evident in any touristy destination here. It was similar when I went to the tomb of the legendary Ho Chi Minh, which is infact his preserved body in a glass case, which was freaky at 9am!

Also though, whilst at Finnegans Irish bar in the city's old quarter the night before, a girl came up to me and asked me if I was from England, then she asked if I went to Reading, and I eventually told her my name, at which point she burst out laughing and hitting me, telling me I was one of the horrid and brutal football boys who used to destroy one particular corner of the bar in the student union!! Turns out she served us boys in Buca corner every wednesday for 3 years, and literally hates us for it. She knew all our names, Berto, Pete Miller (beautiful but a w*nker) hahaha, and knew matty and jimmy too. RANDOM!! I had to buy her a few drinks for the distress and pain we caused her, but she was able to laugh about it at least.

Last night was Vietnamese New Year, and also Frances' (a girl I am travelling with) birtrhday, so we had a bit of a posh meal, perhaps a cheeky few at Finnegans followed by a stunning firework display in the centre of the city. The Vietnamese take New Year to be a massive family time, so everything in the city today is closed, and things that are open are mainly familys all sat round on the floor in their shops and on the streets making fires and drinking, which is good to see. Tonight I am taking an overnight train to Hue.