30/11/2007 - At bloody last! Today we ended the infamous bus ride from Vang Vieng, via Vientiane, to Hanoi in Vietnam. Left at 10am Thurs 29th Nov; arrived Fri 30th 10pm - total journey time: 36 hours!!! You can imagine how exhausted, achey, smelly and hungry we were by the end of the trip. It was meant to be the VIP bus, and it seemingly started off well when we noticed the apparent lack of fellow passengers except for two Americans and some local Vietnamese. However despite having half the coach space to ourselves, we had to put up with bagloads of rice in the aisle, no blankets or cushions, no air-con, seats that didn't recline, and seat handles that didn't go up so that you weren't able to stretch out. Driving through the Annamite mountains meant that the temperature suddenly dropped - we had to huddle up with one another to keep ourselves warm, but Leanna happily accepted an invitation from one of the Americans (Degan the Mormon!?) to cuddle up with him (Intrigued?? Read the next episode to find out more!). After a restless night - Zak even attempted to sleep in the aisle, on top of rice bags, but still to no avail - and a 7 hour wait near the border (I know what you're thinking, why didn't the bus just leave Vang Vieng 7hrs later?!), we left Laos 'Please Don't Rush', and entered Vietnam where we encountered another 4hr delay - this time at a police station! The Vietnamese officers were kicking up a fuss about the coach, something to do with stolen goods? (Zak thinks more likely non-payment of bribe money). Fortunately, there was no major hassle for us, and in fact Leanna and Nikki were chatted up by some of the local policemen, probably to the displeasure of the Americans. We were soon on our way to Hanoi, where we arrived late evening on Fri, and the only thought was to shower, eat and fall into a comatose sleep - the girls were not impressed by the Americans' suggestion to hit the town that night!

1/12/2007 - Next morning we got up earlyish with plans to hit Hanoi's numerous museums and sights, only to be told that we had missed the morning opening session and had to wait till lunch had finished at 2pm to enter the museums. Thus we proceeded to tour the city on foot around the historic Old Quarter, where it is possible to see the French influence on Vietnamese architecture. We visited the Ho Chi Minh Museum, dedicated to the revolutionary and first communist president of Vietnam. Even at first sight of the pentagon shaped museum, we knew that it wouldn't be quite like others, and this was duly confirmed when we entered inside to find a very abstract display of giant fruit, the inside of HCM's brain and a car crashing through a wall. The interior designer must have been on acid! A very enjoyable experience nonetheless, and satisfied, we strolled through the city back to the hotel, only stopping for a bite to eat at a patisserie. In the evening, we continued our cultural enlightenment by going to the theatre to see a unique and colourful Water Puppet show, ending the night at local jazz club playing some great music but charging some steep prices for drinks - a blessing in disguise because we only stayed for one long,slow drink and decided to have an early night in preparation for a 3 day excursion to nearby Ha Long Bay.