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Published: December 13th 2006
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The Pagoda
Our first stop Well yea of little faith! For those of you who doubted my ability to booze all night and still make the early bus, shame on you! I was sat, checked out and breakfasted by 7.25am. Sometimes i even impress myself. Getting good at this getting up in the morning malarky, although don't think it'll be quite the same when i'm having to get up for work. Yck what a horrible thought, anyway back to me!
So got the bus to Hue, 5 hours on the bus but only about 3 hours worth of driving (the Vietnames bus system and their beloved stops at Uncle Tam's or cousin Ho's cafe!!) So had until 5.30pm to kill before i got yet another night bus to Hanoi. As usual i was pounced on as i got off the bus by the hoards of moto and taxi drivers. I wasn't ready to think exactly what i wanted to do so i just wondered off telling them i needed to walk and to leave me alone. One hundred yards down the road i could still hear one of them following me so once again i repeated that i was going to get a cup of
The Citadel
Ok but not great tea(how very British) and then i'd think about if i wanted to hire him. Striding out again in the direction i thought would take me to a cafe. Another 100 yards down the road he pulls up beside me and says i'm going in the wrong direction and he'll take me to a cafe for free. So fed up by this point i jumped on the back and guess what ended up at his Mother in laws cafe! With a cup of tea inside me i set about negotiating a good deal. He wanted $6 to drive me round the town all day and see the sights, a little rich for my blood so said $3. Unfortunately not rich enough for his, so i said i'd pay him $4 if at the end of the day he was a good guide otherwise $3 was my final offer. He smirked and said maybe i wouldn't be fair, so i said trust me and off we set.
He showed me to the Pagoda, set on the rivers edge which was ok and off in the distance were the montains and the Laos border. I asked him if he knew the name
The river
One side the Americans the far side VC of the mountains and he nodded enthusiastically and said "yes, over there!" Ok, that's as good an answer as any!! I then got on the back of the bike and we headed for the Citadel. 15000d worse off and an hour later i'd seen all the ruins of the Citadel i could stomach and off we set again. I told him i couldn't afford to pay anymore entry fees and could he take me to free sites. He got his guide book out and pointed to 2 that he said were free but were futher away. Quickly reading over his shoulder i saw that the original ones he said he'd take me to were 10k out of town and these new ones were 8k. I pointed this out and he said that it was now further because of the roads, so let me get this straight the tombs have moved have they? Hmm, quickly shutting the guide book he frowned and off we set again.
A 10 minute ride later we were up in the hills over looking the river. We wondered to the edge where i took some pictures. We then sat and he told me a bit
Bamboo bridge
Scarey walking, try it on a moped! about himself, how he could remember the sound of the B-52 bombers flying over his village and the way the gas the Americans sprayed killed everything; animals, birds, trees and plants and left generations of children with birth defects. He told me how he didn't go to school because his family was too poor and has since taught himself to read (but in upper case only, can't get his head around lower case and the differences) and speak pretty good English. We managed to understand each other pretty well and i gained a very healthy respect for this man. He was actually very polite, informed and doing his best to maintain a home and family. Now the best of friends we got back on the bike and rode on. He took me down all the little back roads and tracks, through the paddy fields and into the hills, it was an amazing experience. We had to go over a rickety old bamboo bridge at one point and we both laughed at our cowardice as we squeeled as the bamboo bent and gave way as we crossed. We then got off the bike at the next stop and up a dirt
Incense sticks
Look at the pretty colours path, crossing fields and hedges. It dawned on me then that i was miles from anywhere and noone knew where, and i was with a complete stranger!! Strangely though i knew i was ok, he really was a warm genuine guy. As we were about to give up as he'd forgotton the way to the tomb the trees opened out and there in front of us was the most amazing piece of architecture and not only that but i had it all to myself. It was one of those moments that make a trip worthwhile and one that i'll never forget, a truly magical place. I know that had we not sat and talked and reminded ourselves that we're just 2 people in the world trying to get by, my experience would have been very different. I was no longer just a Western tourist trying to get the cheapest price out of him and he was no longer just a bothersome moped driver trying to fleece me. We actually had a good day and i think he did his best to really show me how beautiful his town was. At the end i payed him well over what we'd agreed
Butterfly!!
Me, being arty! and he tried hard to give me change but we just smiled at each other and said goodbye-a great day, truly.
Then another night bus and onto Hanoi. Arrived this morning and it was back to the traditional roles of flustered tourist and aggresive tout. I was grabbed, jostled and pushed by hoards of touts trying to get me into their taxi or hotel. Finally a group of us managed to negotiate a price and headed for the old town. The driver was the most ignorant, bad tempered man i've encountered yet and even raised his fist to me when i refused to pay more than the agreed price. I just walked away having paid the price we agreed originally and hoped he didn't follow! That has pretty much set the tone of the day for me, negotiating hotels, shouted at every 10 seconds by vendors and moped drivers, pushed out of the way, ripped off and fed up. I'm sure Hanoi is a nice place somewhere, i just haven't managed to find it yet. Not to worry though as i'm booked onto an overnight trip to Halong Bay tomorrow and then the same evening i return i'm off again on the night train to Sa Pa and hiking in the hills for 2 days, then its another night train back to Hanoi where i fly straight back out to Bangkok. No doubt i'll be knackered by the end of it all but a month on the Thai islands should sort me out a treat. Probably no contact for a good few days but don't worry i will return. XX
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Yathi
non-member comment
Ready for work by 7.45? Yeah sure.