Hue to Hanoi

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Hue is very much a cultural town as it used to the countries capital during the Imperial era with the Imperial palace based here and a lot of old architecture (most of which unfortunanently was destroyed by American bombings during the war). However after our 2 days on the bikes we had no interet in culture as we were ready for a few beers to celebrate so after settling into our hostel we headed out to meet some people we had met in Hoi An and had a great night especially as Hue does not have much of a night life so most travelers head to the same few bars.

The next day we headed out to do some sightseeing. The imperial palace was built in the early part of the 19th century and took 30 years to complete. It is surronded by a river/moat so you have to cross the road bridge to access the palace which like all roads in Vietnam was an experience as although we walked it still amazed us how much traffic tried to squeeze through the bridge at the same time.

The Imperial Palace is an enormous structure and was where the Vietnamise Emperor lived with his many wives until he abdicated in 1945 following the establishment of a Communist government in Hanoi. The inner citadel had numerous sections where the ancient ruling of Vietnam had been undertaken and had many striking buildings and statues. However like many of the tourist sites in Vietnam the buildings showed their age and the lack of maintenance over the past 60 years. What made the palace so much more frustrating was that with a little bit more work, care and attention it could been an incredible place to visit but small details damage the image and appeal of the place. There was restoration work going on but the numerous bikes that had driven into the Citadel had damaged the grounds and there seemed to be little or no effort to maintain the gardens or many of the structures which led to either ugly dirt patches or overgrown weeds and grass between the buildings. The visit would have been a major disappointment if we had not discovered an attraction that offered to dress you up in the old style of the Emperors and then let you sit on a throne and one of the chairs that would have been carried through the city by servants/slaves. The outfits looked ridiculous on us but that added to the appeal and all the locals loved it when we emerged wearing the costume. It was a lot of fun and worth the trip on its own.

We enjoyed another great nightout in Hue that evening with Spike deciding we would go to a bar called Crazy Buffalo's which turned out to be the secret hang out for the local gay men something we did not realise until most of the tourists cleared out at 1 and all of a sudden the local men were taking a keen interest in us - after Spike kept trying to set me up with all these local men I decided it was time to leave before he got me in trouble but another funny night in a great town.

The next day/evening we left Hue on a night train to Hanoi. It was another great travel experience as I was in a small cabin with 3 random people but I had a reasonable size bed which was a major step up from the previous sleeper buses. My travels have taught me that I am not a good sleeper and this journey was no different as despite the bed I struggled to sleep again because of the noise and rocking on the train - I definitely need to invest in some sleeping pills or Valium! We arrived in Hanoi at 6am both of us pretty exhausted and headed to Hanoi Backpackers which is the most popular hostel in the city. It was set up by two Australian guys and it ticks all the right boxes in terms of what a traveler needs - cheap clean beds, laundry and free breakfast and offers loads of opportunities to meet other travelers.

We booked to go on their boat trip around Ha Long Bay which is called 'The Rock Long Rock Hard' tour so we knew what we were heading into to! The next day we drove 4 hours on a bus and then another hour boat transfer to reach our boat in the bay. It was much nicer than we expected and just by chance me and Spike got stuck in one of the best rooms where we had our own balcony shared with only one other room. On arrival everyone changed into their swimming stuff and then jumped off the boat which was about 20ft high so lots of fun. After lunch we headed out on a kayak which turned out to be a 1-2 hour journey accros the sea which by the time we arrived at the cave we were going to climb through left us exhausted and with some great blisters on our hands. The cave was fun and some great scenic views once we reached the other side. On the kayak back they decided to split us girl/boy on the kayaks to make it easier for the girls. I was looking forward to a gentle ride back but they had partnered me with the bionic women who rowed harder than most of the guys and never took a break naturally I couldn't be seen to be not pulling my weight so had to keep pace with her - no easy task. As a result I was feeling pretty broken by the time we got back to the boat but it was really good to do some exercise after over a month without any.

After dinner we set into the real reason for the trip the partying. Each trip has there own party guide who's only role is to get the party started and make sure it keeps going (dream job for some people I am sure!) Our guide was a crazy Mexican called David who set up a 30 person game of ring of fire to get us all very drunk and unfortunanetly for me I was forced to swap clothes with a girl within 10 minutes of the game starting who due to her obviously not having anthing that fit me left me only wearing my shorts and a pashmina for the next two hours - I got my revenge as at the end I was able to get my clothes back and force everyone to switch with the person next to them! It was a great night we both agreed our best of the trip so far. The next day we were woken horrifically early considering how much we had drunk and how late we went to bed so as zombies the 8 of us who had decided to do the 3 day trip changed boats and went to a beach just for people from this trip. As the hangover faded I was able to appreciate how amazing the place was with it feeling like our own private beach. We were all able to try wakeboarding that afternoon which Spike excelled at but I was terrible not being able to stand up once definitely not my sport! That evening we enjoyed an amazing dinner considering how small the island we were on was and a nice chilled evening which as a small group we were able to relax and get to know each other. Our guide showed us that the sea there had plankton that would send out purple ripples of colour whenever the sea was disturbed - naturally this got all the guys running to the sea to go to the toilet and try and write there name. We slept right by the beach under small open aired huts it was such a tranquil place as there was no sound and we were able to fall asleep to the sound of the waves.

The next day we head back to meet up with the party boat again and due to my lack of hangover I was able to appreciate the beauty of the area on thewhere thousands of rocks emerge from the sea all over the bay. The Vietnamise government are trying to make Ha Long Bay one of the natural wonders of the world but although it is like much of Vietnam stunning to look at it is ruined by the fact that there has been no control of the rubbish thrown into the sea and as result the sea is littered with all types of rubbish which does spoil the place a little.

We spent a few more days in Hanoi visiting the local museums and monuments and generally just enjoying a very vibrant and exciting city.

I loved Vietnam it is a fast growing place where the people seem to be rushing to do everything and are definitely not as friendly as those in Thailand and Cambodia but there is so much to see and do (especially if you head off the beaten tourist tracks to visit the real Vietnam) that it by a long way my favourite country that I have been to so far. I would say it is now a must now for anyone who comes travelling to Asia.

Next stop is Laos but a 25 hour bus journey and a notoriusly bad border crossing has to be endured before we get there can't wait!

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Photos

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This is as close as I got