From Lazy Laos to Hectic Hanoi, with a bit of Beautiful Boating on the side

---

Greetings from Vietnam!

Our last blog was from Luang Prabang, since when we've travelled south to Vang Vieng and Vientiane before arriving in Vietnam a week ago. We got the 'VIP' bus to Vang Vieng which basically means it's a normal coach with some sparkly tassels and marble-effect paneling - it was an okay journey though and the driver didn't seem to be trying to drive us off a cliff, which is always a plus.

We spent 3 nights there and succeeded in not acquiring a bandage/losing any limbs while tubing (personal Boom!). From all the stories we've heard about Vang Vieng, being a crazy drink-fuelled party mess of a place, we were pleasantly surprised. They have recently cleaned the area up and the government has closed down many of the riverside bars to try and make it a more appealing place to more people (not just drunken backpackers...). We floated down the beautiful Mekong river for about 4-5 hours, stopping twice at bars for a refreshing beer/sprite and some noodles. We were getting slightly worried about not getting the tubes back by the 6pm deadline so we hitched a ride on the back of a kayak full of very nice Thai people, who towed us the rest of the way back. They probably didn't enjoy us telling people to join our river train when they ended up towing about 12 people. But they took it in good humour!

In the evening we sampled some of the bars in the town, starting in a lovely riverside bar where a man dressed as a monkey provided entertainment by dancing to Vanilla Ice with bar staff which was hilarious. He was promoting the bar Fat Monkey which seemed to work as every backpacker ended up there later on (we mainly wanted to take advantage of the fact they gave you a free t-shirt if you bought 2 drinks). One drinks menu we were offered casually included Opium or Mushroom shakes - we declined and went for the vodka and lemonade instead. See parents, we are sensible. After the bars closed we did some "falking" (def: stalking strangers in a friendly manner when you're lost to find somewhere fun) and ended up meeting a group of Canadians at the pancakes stall who took us to Moon Bar. It looked like a bike shed from the outside but was full of locals and backpackers dancing and drinking. On our way home we met our new favourite person - Tim from Stockport who had an obsession with cats, dinosaurs and birds of prey. Our kind of guy. We loved him.

Our last stop in Laos was the capital, Vientiane. It was a perfectly nice place with enough things to keep us entertained for a few days, but there was a general lack of people out and about so there wasn't much atmosphere. It was crazy hot and after 5 minutes of walking in the sun you turned into a huge sweat ball. It didn't help that the first day the electricity had disappeared so there was no air con anywhere. We spent about 4 days there visiting various museums and monuments, the highlight of which was the Buddha Park (literally a park full of stone Buddha's). We got a very bumpy tuk-tuk there but it was definitely worth the sore bottoms to see all the impressive stone statues and climb the giant 'pumpkin' to get a panoramic view (see photos!).

In an attempt to burn off some of the food we've been eating (a lot), Taz and Suzanne spent an afternoon in the fitness centre. We spent 5 pounds for use of everything including gym, pool, 1 hour massage, steam room and jacuzzi! If anyone is thinking Suzanne used the gym right now, we'll put you straight; she didn't. We spent out last night in Laos looking around the riverside night market and packing our bags ready for the flight to Hanoi the next day.

We flew with Laos Airlines on possibly the cleanest/newest plane we're ever been on. The flight took about 45 mins but we were still given a snack and a drink. Some people may think we're flash-packers for flying but the horror stories we've heard about the 48 hour bus journey made it worth paying extra to fly! Arriving in Hanoi airport, there was a smiley Vietnamese man holding a sign with Suzanne's name on, which excited us very much. He drove us to our hotel, Little Hanoi Diamond, which took about an hour. Coming from Vientiane, the city of no people, to the hectic capital of Vietnam was a big shock. We saw more people and more mopeds in the first 10 minutes of the journey than we saw in the whole of Laos. The roads are complete chaos, nobody has an road manners or even drives on the right side of the road. The notion of giving way is absolutely non existent. We passed one moped with a cage full of dogs strapped to the back. After pointing this out, our taxi driver grinned and told us they were for eating and apparently very tasty. We have yet to try it through choice (although we've had some questionable 'grilled meat'😉.

We spent two nights at Little Hanoi Diamond (very nice but a little expensive for us) and then two nights at Hanoi Backpackers Hostel which is full of travellers, yummy pancakes and has a great atmosphere. We visited the Hao Lo Prison Museum which was really interesting and included personal accounts of local people involved in the wars and how they were treated. We also went to the Women's Museum which tells you all about womens roles in society and their contributions during the war. Both are definitely worth a visit.

The food here is AMAZING. We've mainly been eating street food which is really cheap and always really tasty. Our particular favorite is the Vietnamese specialty 'Bun Cha' (barbecued pork patties in broth with rice noodles and minty leaves) -so good! For the cheapest drinks in town, we made friends with a lady who had a street bar opposite Hanoi Backpackers where beer costs 50p. Here we met a Scottish man and an Irish Man (yes they had an English friend too - but he didn't come out) who were probably the most hilarious people we have met so far. All the street bars have to close at 11pm so we all went to a bar called Hair of the Dog where Scottish man got on the podium and tried to pole dance, but broke his flip-flop in the process making him quite angry. We however, found it rather amusing. This bar closed soon after we got there because of the 12am curfew (except for 1 night club just out of town, owned by the chief of police's son - love a bit of favoritism). At night there are lots of police patrols who make sure the street bars aren't taking over the road....when the street vendors hear the police van coming they quickly usher you all on the pavement and then look innocent. After this, we did some more falking and somehow ended up at an illegal lock in at a local bar, where we had to enter through a grate, curtain and door all the while being told to shush (not the easiest thing to ask of a group of 10 drunk backpackers - especially if one's Scottish).

On Tuesday morning at 8am we were ready and waiting in the hostel lobby for our bus to pick us up for our Ha Long Bay tour. By 9am we were still sat there waiting and so decided to ring the company to find out what was happening. It seems they forgot us. Bad start. Luckily it was all fine as a taxi came to get us so we could catch up with the bus. When we got on the bus we met a girl called Sam who we recognised from the hostel - they'd picked her up but obviously decided we looked like trouble and so left us behind. Putting that mishap behind, we made it to Ha Long Bay and got on our lovely boat where we were spending the first day and night. We were greeted by a very friendly crew who welcomed us to the boat with warm smiles. The boat was just how it looked in the brochures complete with flowers and plants on the top deck and lovely en-suite cabins below. We had a really diverse group of 15 on our boat including a slightly sickening honeymooning couple from Australia a cute old French couple, some Canadians and some Germans -everyone was really nice. On the first day we went to a huge cave, kayaked around a floating village and took in the beautiful surroundings. Ha Long Bay is breathtakingly stunning and pictures or words just don't do it justice.

In the evening we moored up in a bay surrounded by lots of other boats and had a delicious dinner with our fellow passengers. Overall, the food on the tour was scrumptious and plentiful and included make-your-own fresh spring rolls, bbq oysters, grilled fish and noodle soup. There was no risk of us ever being hungry. We had drinks on the top deck altogether before retiring to our cabins. During the night there was a massive storm which woke most people up with the deafening rumbles of thunder and rain hitting the windows (not Taz, she was dead to the world). Suzanne was woken up by water dripping on her face, as unfortunately she was sleeping next to a very leaky window and the rain had soaked the majority of her bed. Bad times.

The next day we sailed on through the beautiful scenery to our own private island, Monkey Island. Yes, there were monkeys. The storm had cleared the air so the sun did come out and we could sunbathe and swim on the beach. Our resort was very nice and Suzanne was especially thrilled to have a dry bed for the night. We went on two treks up the mountains (term used loosely, more like hills) where we got some magnificent panoramic views of the bay and the monkeys causing mischief below. That evening we had another yummy dinner and played cards with our new boat friends. We really didn't want to leave Ha Long Bay but the next morning we had to get the boat and then bus all the way back to Hanoi.

We're staying Hanoi for another couple of days, before going up north to Sapa. We've been to the Water Puppet Theatre which is a traditional production telling legends and stories of the history of Vietnam using puppets in water (hence the name). It was really interesting and cute and the live music was really good. We also have a really cultural afternoon at the Mulitplex cinema (don't judge) where we watched Silver Linings Playbook in English luckily and ate popcorn and frozen yogurt.

Sorry this is a bit of an essay, our next update will be from somewhere south.

Happy Easter! We've going to try to get some chocolate and have our own Viet-style egg hunt!

lots of love,

Taz, Hannah and Suzanne xxxx

---

Comments

[Andrew Haddow]

Comment
You *say* you didn't try the opium and mushroom shakes... All very exciting.