The longest journey of my life but rewarded by buzzing Hanoi !!

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Day 131 (Tues 15^thJan)



So this blog starts with the overnight bus from Vientiane to Hanoi. Myself and Megan got picked up around tea time from our hostel. We got driven maybe an hour to the bus station which housed all the night buses to various locations in Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand. The bus left the terminal around half 6. We were on a sleeper bus. I was hoping for a bed, but what we got was a reclining chair and legroom. The chair was reclined nearly flat but not quite, so you were still sort of sat upright, which made it awkward trying to sleep. There also is adequate leg room for an Asian, not so much a westerner. I struggled for space the entire trip and got no sleep whatsoever. All the westerners were grouped at the back of the bus, not sure why.

On the Laos side we crawled hitting what seemed like every pot hole between Vientiane and the border, also stopping far too many times. I think there were 5 stops in the first 6 hours which is silly. The bus continued on its way to the border, we watched a couple films on my computer to pass some of the time as we went. We needed to do this as the bus was showing what seemed like Asian X Factor at full volume and it was horrendous, luckily the films drowned that out, otherwise it’d have been an even longer trip.

We made the border at 1:30am, which was earlier than the hostel said so happy days. What followed next was pointless. We sat there until 7am when the border actually opens. This raises many questions, such as why on earth did we leave at 6:30pm when we were going to have a 5hr plus wait at the border. Surely a bus leaving at midnight would have made more sense. Anyways the bus sat there, everyone asleep but me who can’t sleep unless I’m horizontal and preferably star-fished.

Then at 7am we could cross. All the westerners had to get of the bus for passport control, the locals did not, it seemed one person collected all passports and did it for them, not quite sure how this works as anyone could have been sat on the bus. We entered the building and waited for our Laos exit stamp, this took an age and on leaving the building our bus had gone. We’d heard they sometimes go to the Vietnam border so we had to walk. This was 7am, it was cold, visibility was around 5 metres and we were walking aimlessly up a road in no man’s land. We eventually found the Vietnamese border around 20 minutes later. Paid for our entry stamp, yet another con and found our bus once again. We got on the bus and it tried to leave before the other 5 even turned up. Shouting from the back of the bus for it to stop did nothing, it just carried on until a few locals stopped it for us. With everyone back on the bus we carried on.

Another 13 hours on the bus ensued which was not too bad but still painfully dull. The weather was poor so no view or anything. We arrived in Hanoi around 8:30pm. The last 2 hours being stupidly bumpy. It seems bridges here aren’t built at the same level as the roads so you get thrown about a lot going over them, of which there are plenty I can assure you.

We made the bus station then were conned by a taxi driver. I saw a sign saying 10km to city centre, on getting to hostel the meter said we’d done 45km. Megan argued with the driver to reduce the fare and we got 1/3 knocked off but still paid well over the odds. Checked in and found a nice little place for tea, good cheap food and cheap beer also. It was a good end to a 28 hour bus trip.



Day 131 (Wed 16^th Jan)



We slept in as we needed the sleep. We headed out around lunch time and went to the Old quarter, being where a lot of the main tourist attractions are housed. We first visited the army museum, which I loved. There were plenty of Vietnamese and shot down American planes, choppers and various other displays. The reading of the history inside the museum was also very informative if not a little biased. The main structure outside was a huge display made up from shot down American planes, it was very well made and quite impressive, the centre piece being the engine of a B-52 bomber. There was a flag tower next to the museum which I climbed for a decent view of the city.

We had lunch in the little cafe next to it which was spot on and moved on towards the Citadel. The citadel is only a street or so away which was handy, both of us still a bit lethargic after the bus ride yesterday.

The citadel is where the headquarters were for the Vietnamese during their various wars. There is an underground bunker that has just opened but on this occasion we couldn’t find it plus the weather wasn’t amazing. We took some photo’s and headed back towards our hostel. I plan on going back if I find a nice day to get some better photo’s.

In the evening we got tea and sampled some of the local Bia Hoi, being 15p lager poured straight from a keg on the side of the road. The beer itself doesn’t taste too bad and for 15p who can complain. You sit on little kiddies tables and chairs in the middle of the street, it’s really a weird thing first time you experience it. We walked to the Water puppet theatre which I’d seen on the map and was intrigued by. Unfortunately we couldn’t go today as it was sold out so we booked to go tomorrow.



Day 132 (Thurs 17^th Jan)



First thing we walked to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. I am not an early riser but it closes at 11am and you have to be in by 10am so felt it was worth getting up early for once. We were about 50 metres from the Mausoleum walking down a path when the Vietnamese Police started whistling and chasing us. Apparently you can’t approach it from the front, not sure why as you don’t pay a fee to visit, seemed odd but we had to walk all the way around instead.

We first went in to see Ho Chi Minh, this was a weird experience. Around 30 people at a time queue up in pairs and walk inside, guarded by police. You go up a flight of stairs and then into the room. Ho Chi Minh is just lying in a glass box with a couple lights aimed at his face, arms and hands, crossed on his midriff. It was quite weird. I managed to get told off twice by the guards, once for walking too slow and another for having my hand behind my back. I was only in there a minute and warned twice, could only happen to me.

We left and next door is the presidential palace. By this time the rain was hammering it down, but we stayed out and had a look anyways. You can see the Palace as well as where Ho Chi Minh lived. He didn’t actually reside in the palace, more a little outhouse to the side of it. He had very very basic living conditions and it was quite cool to see how a leader of a communist party lived. It looked a bit like a student’s halls. A bed, table, chest of drawers and a cupboard. That was pretty much it. By this time we were soaked but while there we went into the museum also.

The Ho Chi Minh museum is definitely the strangest museum I’ve ever been in. The first floor had an exhibition of his speeches and quotations which was very interesting. The rest of the museum I didn’t get at all. The top floor being a huge abstract display. I don’t have the imagination at all to understand what was supposed to be going on, it just didn’t seem right. I am sure they could have portrayed Ho Chi Minh far easier and simpler than that. One which simple people like me could understand.

After this we retired to hostel to dry off and relax for the afternoon. In the evening we first went to Bia Hoi corner and then onto the Water puppet show. I loved the show. It cost about £3 and lasted around an hour. Definitely worth a visit if you’re in Hanoi. There are 9 scenes of different things going on, with 3 ladies at the side talking you through it and singing during the scenes. The skill of the puppeteers is impressive. You find out at the end they are on huge sticks, but how they don’t collide and can perform the routines they do is amazing. The second scene had me in hysterics, something I’ll never forget.

After this some more Bia Hoi and a bar on the next street for 3 for 2 beers until the Vietnamese police threw us out around half 12. They roam around with whistles and flashlights annoying people and making you leave.



Day 133 (Fri 18^th Jan)



With a hangover we didn’t get a lot done in the morning. On getting out the hostel we searched for a mall or cinema, but couldn’t find either. We took a walk around the lake and a few streets.

In the evening we had tea then met up with Tammy and Jo again, they seem to be a few days behind my schedule so now and again our paths overlap which is cool.

A strange thing also happened at tea. We were sat in a restaurant and a girl (Puck, Holland) who I’d met in early December in Bangkok came into the restaurant. Ok I knew she was in town, but in a city of millions of people to bump into someone you met 6 weeks earlier is amazing. It always shocks me when it happens unexpectedly.

After we met the girls we wandered the market for a huge 15 minutes, got bored and cold and went to the bar. We ended up play drink jenga and an eastenders drinking game which got messy. It was a very strange game which was quite amusing to play, but I was useless, and got abused the entire game, being made to drink at every opportunity.

On the police throwing us out again we found a lock in, in some rasta bar, had another couple of beers and staggered home around 2am.



Day 134 (Sat 19^th Jan)



Once again waking up with a hangover we didn’t make it to the History museum I had planned on going too. This was to be Megan’s last day as she was leaving at tea time. I was leaving the following morning for Ha Long Bay so we spent the afternoon in Highlands coffee shop in the main square overlooking the mental traffic. Scooters, bicycles, cars, trikes, all sorts just go which ever direction they fancy. There is literally no green cross code here. To cross the road as a pedestrian you have to just walk and the scooters will go round you.

It gave us time to catch up on our blogs or diaries and upload photo’s etc online which was handy, every now and again you need an afternoon to just sort stuff out. Plus I planned the rest of my Vietnam trip although I am yet to book anything.

In the evening I was now a billy no mates for the first time in weeks. It was strange to now be solo but tomorrow I am on a tour so hopefully won’t last for long. I got an early night in preparation for my cruise tomorrow.



Next – Ha Long Bay and last day in Hanoi !!

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