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HAPPY ST. PATRICKS DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well in typical us style, we've seriously run outta time for our last three countries ( Yes that's right, three!) and have had to rush them slightly so what should really take six weeks, we've managed to pack into about ten days yet still managed to see most of the places we wanted to see. So we got the unbelievably long bus from Laos to Hanoi, the capital, in the north of the country. We stayed in a really lovely hotel in the old quarter of the city ( Hanoi Guesthouse..can be booked on hostelworld.com for anyone interested) where all the backpackers hang out. It was actually a crazy place with market stalls all over the place and lots to see and do. YOu wouldn't actually believe the traffic there. We were actually terrified of crossing the road and you just had to launch yourself in front of about a million scooters and keep walking at a steady pace and they' d avoid you. It was so frightening though cos it was just instinct to hesitate and try to avoid the oncoming scooters, but you'd actually die if you didn't just keep walking and not
look up. Hanoi brings a new perspective to the phrase 'noise pollution' It was unbelievable the amount of blaring horns in the city. We wondered how they actually drove with one hand on the steering wheel (not handlebars for those who have had that argument with me!) and the other permanently attached to the horn. Well, wonders never cease cos that's what they did all the time! Anyway, Yve and Mand decided to embark on the cultural trail of Hanoi and visited Hoa Lo prison and Ho Chi Minh's house on stilts and palace while me and Lynz wandered the Old Quarter and marvelled at the lack of any sort of etiquette in the post office. I never realised how impatient I was but it took us an hour and a half to post one package and there wasn't even a queue! We also visited the lake in the centre of Hanoi with the legend of the turtle which was actually worth a visit. We didnt experience much nightlife in Hanoi..not due to our own anti-socialness but because there is none. Everything shuts down before eleven (much to our horror after getting off a 23hour bus journey ready to eat
Hanoi
Crazy traffic - actually crossing the road is a life-threatening task! anything in sight!) so we got together with a Korean called John and his Canadian room mate, Pat and had dinner and eventually had to opt for drinking beer in their hotel. I never thought I'd say it but I missed the Cube on our nights in Hanoi!
So after two nights we decided enough was enough and hot footed it to get the night train to Hoi An. We had heard so much about this village which was made up entirely of tailor shops, ready to whisk you in, measure you and whip up any article of clothing you desired in record time. We had been waiting for this place for so long and had tried to save some money for clothes here and it was definitely worth it. I think we had all gone there with the intention of getting practical things for Australia and maybe a suit which we might need down the line. However, our story takes a different turn! Not only did we not come away with one suit between the four of us, but we managed to accumulate ten winter coats. yes that's right ten winter coats which we have to lug around
Hanoi
Uncle Ho's house! with us for the rest of the trip and then bring to Melbourne which is only going to be cold for a very limited time. And that's not all. I think we got ten trousers and about fifteen tops between us! You'd swear we had money but the coats etc were all so nice and so cheap we couldn't resist. An investment for the future is what I say! Luckily it happened to be my birthday while I was in Hoi An so I could justify the expenditure somewhat.
For the big 2-3 the girls totally surprised me with a mortifying cake lighting ceremony in the very snazzy restaurant we were in . I even got two bunches of flowers and some old Italian men bought us a bottle of wine so we ended up having a lovely evening. I had been totally oblivious to their planning all day and hadn't even noticed when yvonne risked death on the back of someone's motorbike twice to get my cake somewhere in the Vietnamese countryside!
From here we flew down to Saigon/Ho Chi Minh (they still use both names which can be a bit confusing - I think Ho chi Minh
Hanoi
Our "first class" cabin!! It was actually luxury after the buses! is the official name but all the Vietnamese say Saigon so who knows!) The flight was for once a really good deal - only $10 more than the bus but 23 hours shorter - this suited us just fine! Our life was threatened multiple times here with the traffic again - I actually don't think that I will ever be able to cross the road in Vietnam without my life flashing before my eyes! We spent our time there looking for bargain necessities such as deodorant in the market (we didn't find any so instead spent ended up paying a fortune, huge surprise there!) and wandering the city looking for the Panarama Cafe which our book had told us to visit for the amazing views - what the book had failed to include was the fact that it was in a really snazzy building that I don't think appreciated 3 sweaty, dirty Irish girls in flip flops and that the food and drinks are abnormally expensive (a coca cola was $3.50!) So after eventually getting to the cafe we sat down looked at the menu and ran away mortified! We also took a half-day trip to the Chu chi tunnels
Hoi An
Ruths birthday!!! Happy birthday to you!!!! where the Vietnamese fought and hid from American troops. It was a really interesting place to see - the tunnel system is like an underground city, I had naively thought that it was just one little tunnel, instead it spreads all the way to the Cambodian border and has libraries, kitchens, sleeping areas... We went down one section of the tunnels that has been especially widened for westerners ( being the big heffers that we are!) It was still really small and cramped but the thing that hit me was the heat - how people lived down there is beyond me.
From here is was onto Cambodia for St. Patricks day.......
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