lost in translation - 13 hour bus ride to hoi an

i must start this entry on a positive note: the rice fields. the first time i experienced the country side of vietnam. meditative. calming. soothing. watching the blades of grass float with the gentle caresses of the wind....epic. cannot be explained in words. my heart was full. fully in the moment. THAT was the highlight of a 13 hour bus ride. yes folks, 13 hours!

for those of you thinking about taking the open bus ANYWHERE in vietnam....did the travel books mention that even though the price of the bus is probably 10 times less than the train....there is no bathroom on the bus, the drivers hardly speak english, and they seldom stop for bathroom breaks or food breaks.....depends on when they have those needs! and so my first major "lost in translation" moment in vietnam.

uncle vinh and aunt huong (locals of vietnam and frequent travelers) planned the trip for mom and me to see a little of the country as we traveled from tropical weather nha trang to cool fall weather in hanoi. they forgot to mention the mode of transportation (the least expensive but most brutal mode) was to take us 13 hours by bus to hoi an, 3.5 hour from hoi an to hue, and (get this....) 22 hours from hue to hanoi! we trusted them to get us there however they saw fit....but that changed significantly when we were 6 hours into the bus ride to hoi an and i asked how much longer....and they said a few more hours. WHAT? i drove 8 hours home from college (va tech, blacksburg, va to central jersey shore and that was a LONG 8 hours. thanks greg gardner for letting me sleep in the passenger seat the whole ride :-)

so i must say i arrived in hoi an a little bit grumpy. just a little. i almost bailed on mom, aunt + uncle starting to make arrangements to go my own way.....but after a good meal, a long night's sleep in a nice hotel (only $25 per night but one of their best in town. tee hee.) and then a late wake up and a long self practice in the hotel room while they visited the pham phu family doctor that lived in town...i changed my mind and decided to continue to travel with them on the 3.5hr ride to hue...only if they hired a taxi. yes...i had to put my foot down on NO MORE OPEN BUS TOURS....forever!

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open bus tour site: http://www.tosercohanoi.com/webplus/viewer.asp?pgid=3&ncid=9&aid=110

this is their take on it:
How It Works?

Traveling on Open Bus is simple. fun and flexible. We pick you up at your hostel or hotel and show you some cool places, (Hanoi, Hue, Hoian, Nha Trang, Dalat, Hochiminh, etc). listen to some music (bring your CD's), make some new friends, tell some jokes, and drop you off at your next destination. Travel at your own pace! If you want to stay somewhere along the way, you can continue your journey on another bus another day.


....it's all good, as long as i'm not on that bus :-)

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