The bus journey to Jianshui gave us evidence that perhaps so far we'd been really lucky with public transport in China. This one left late, there was vomit on the outside of the bus and every so often a faint whiff inside, it was completely full, the driver tried to move us from our seats with legroom to ones without (but we insisted that people climbed over us instead), and almost all the guys chain-smoked, leaving me marvelling at how our lungs still functioned on 78% cigarette smoke and 22% vomit-tinged air. (I've hardly seen any women smoking, but they spit with as much gusto as the men.) The road was rough for most of the way (as in passengers were airborne occasionally). In the 2 years since my RG was published, things have clearly moved ... read more

To exit Vietnam we had to return to Lao Cai for the border crossing there, and I was glad to leave. My overall impression of Vietnam was overwhelmingly negative, with too many interactions with people that were designed to rip me off or get money out of me, a generally poor infrastructure (with Internet access being uniformly hopeless throughout the country), and almost nothing in the way of compensating attractions. I can't think of one reason why I would ever return there, which makes Vietnam unique among the countries I've visited in my life. In China, we were given assistance from the moment we appeared in the immigration building in Hekou, being shown which forms to fill in and where to queue. It took a while for all the admin to be done, and then I ... read more

With no wish to stay in Hanoi any more than necessary, and with a few days to kill before we could pick up our China visas, we headed for Ninh Binh after Ha Long Bay. The journey was marked by a rare conversation that was purely for conversation's sake (with a girl studying English at Hanoi University) and an all-too-frequent conversation with a guy who was much too pushy in trying to persuade us to stay in his guesthouse. On arriving in Ninh Binh, we were hassled by several touts, a couple of whom even followed us on motorbikes. However once we'd found a place and ditched our bags, the town showed a very different side, with kids saying "hello" to us, minimal traffic, and a very non-Vietnam feel. One of the main sights near Ninh ... read more

Hue-Hanoi was another train journey, mainly because it was the fastest option and was also the only choice that didn't include an overnight section. Lunch and dinner were the same insipid offerings as on the Ho Chi Minh City-Da Nang leg, but at least there were spare seats and the staff swept the train at frequent intervals (a necessary task as everyone simply threw their rubbish on the floor - a Southeast Asian trait). Hanoi was rather warmer than I was hoping it would be, but it also brought some benefits such as the existence of Double Chocolate Milanos. The streets were completely crowded with traffic, with the Old Quarter being a health hazard in the extreme. I found this rather spoiled the atmosphere, as I'd been expecting a pedestrian-only warren of alleys offering a glimpse ... read more

The most obvious route for travelling through Vietnam from Ho Chi Minh City snakes along the east coast for most of the length of the country before heading inland to Hanoi. Though many buses a day set off on this long haul (42 hours to go straight through), a railway line mirrors the road and the Reunification Express trains running on it can chop a good 12 hours off the journey time (but you pay for it). I only wanted to go to Da Nang (about half way up the country and the jumping -off point for Hoi An), but the train-lover in me insisted on giving the bus a miss. The trip would be partly overnight, but I really couldn't see myself getting any sleep so chose a soft seat rather than paying 60% more ... read more