Hanoi

Arrived in Hanoi around 7.00am and set about finding some accommodation. After a short search we found a room and explored the city. We’d managed a few hours sleep on the bus but still felt a little jaded. Fuelled by caffeine and adrenaline we walked around the Old Quarter for most of the morning. When we say we walked, we mean we struggled to walk, seeing as the pavements were not so much for pedestrians as they were for motorbikes, stalls, chairs, carpentry and chickens!

As a result we were forced onto the road which in turn involves dodging the motorbikes, tuk-tuks and cars. All in all it became a fairly stressful wander around the town! Laura however did manage to buy a replacement lens cap for her camera as the original is somewhere at the bottom of the Mekong Delta. After a bit of a search we found some lunch then booked a trip to Halong Bay for the next day. Hanoi was relatively cold compared to the south of Vietnam and was pretty grey and dreary the whole time. The people also didn’t seem quite as friendly as they had been throughout Vietnam but we didn’t mind.

The next day we did a day trip out to Halong Bay. On the way there we were delayed by an accident so had a reduced amount of time on the boat. The trip was good and the low mist gave the islands a real “Pirates of the Caribbean” atmosphere. The tour took us to some limestone caves and a floating village set amongst the impressive karsts (as seen on Top Gear!). We got back late and went straight to bed.

The following day we had a lie in then walked around the markets looking at the array of souvenirs on offer. About 5.00pm we grabbed our bags and waited to be taken to the bus station for our trip across the border and into Laos. After a 90 minute wait our minivan finally arrived and we were rather unceremoniously bundled in. Five minutes later we stopped to pick up another group of rather disgruntled backpackers. They too were shoved into the van which was now full to bursting with 17 people plus backpacks. The driving left a little to be desired and by the time we reached the station everyone was pretty hacked off with the whole thing. At the station we were herded and dragged towards a bus that bared no resemblance to any of the photos we had been shown by the tour operator. The men at the station were pretty rude and continued to shout at us as we boarded a fairly old battered bus. It was a sad way to leave Vietnam as we had really enjoyed our time there. I guess we were just a little unlucky.

Things did improve however as we met 3 young Vietnamese guys who were on the bus and were really lovely. Unfortunately as we had got on last we were shoved at the rear of the carriage amongst the baggage and therefore couldn’t recline our seats- the photos illustrate just how crammed it was. Anyway, with a 22 hour journey ahead of us all we could do was sit back or more like sit upright, try to sleep (not very likely) and look forward to Laos and Vientiane.

Laura and Stani xxx