China to Hanoi!

---

Hey all!

Well we managed to get out of China! It wasn't too bad looking back (considering the places we went through were just a stop-gap to get to Vietnam and not tourist hotspots) but the fact that Amy's highlight of the place was reaching the border and Ryan's was finding out Arsenal had gone top of the premier league sort of sums it up...

Literally the most mental border crossing to Vietnam anyone could fathom. We got a coach to it and they drove us in a little golf buggy (!) to the Chinese customs, which was all very nice. Then we had to go through the Vietnamese one, where you just handed your passport through a cubby hole and waited in a manic crowd for it to be chucked back at you!! When they saw us (the only 'western' looking people there) they made a special effort to find our passports and stamped it before any of the other peoples' - read into that what you will!

We then took another bus into Hanoi (stopping off on the way where we bought some sticky pink meat-smelling paste wrapped in banana leaves, which we decided in the end might be best avoided) and ended up dropped off on the outskirts of the city. A taxi took us to our hostel and applied the normal overcharge for foreigners, but we were just glad to get there having travelled all day.

It's absolutely manic here. It is not what you would expect of a capital city, it's quite ramshackle and rundown, but it's still really exciting. Nearly everyone has a scooter instead of a car and they all beep randomly - not because anything is in the way but because beeping is the done thing! And there are literally hundreds of them. Nothing stops to let you cross - the trick is to step out and things know to swerve round you!! (Not as dangerous as you might think!)

We have walked through the city and even found ourselves in alleyways full of houses. It's quite a shock to see the difference in the standard of living!! Tonight we're going to see a water puppet show and go out for dinner again - last night we were both so hungry and sick of duck skulls (a Chinese delicacy it seems) and rice that we had spag bol and carbonara!

We've just arranged to go to Ha Long Bay tomorrow on a tour, by bus and boat. We are going to spend two nights in Cat Ba Island, which according to the Lonely Planet Guide is like something out of Jurassic Park, with seafood lunches thrown in! (We're not supposed to eat seafood, but we had a tuna sandwich today muahaha so hey ho). After that we come back to Hanoi and will take the night train to Hue.

We are including a few photos (of China and Hanoi) for your enjoyment...

loves, A and R xx

---

Photos

Hong Kong bird...
For Steve!

Comments

[Russell & Helen]

Hello!
Hey you two! Sounds like you are having a marvellous time seeing lots of fab places and eating some very different things! Keep up the great photos! Take care Russell and Bod xxxx