Hanoi to Vientiane a story of deception lies comedy tiredness and general madness

we waited in the cold for the Vietnamese bus workers to let us board the night bus to Vientiane. With our bellys full of pizza and a fantastic nights sleep under our belt we felt well equiped to embark on one of the most notorious bus Journey in the world ( just read the reviews) . The usual questions were being thrown around amongst the back packer community I had the pleasure to meet a lad from Ipswich whilst waiting Adnams and Warbaswick among the topics. even more impressive than That a very sweet Vietnamese lady asked me to tie up her scarf around her face to shield her from the cold i was so honored.

So it was time for bording and we all jostled for position we needed have bothered we had to wait as the local Vietnamese folk had the right to take fist dibs on the beds of there choosing. which stired a reaction from a middle aged french woman who looked like she had spent her entire budget on cheap wine. 

But in time we all went on the bus and fought for our beds me and Amy got ourselves on 2 beds in a set of 3 these beds were so small it wasnt funny to make matters worse the tallest Japanesse man in the History of well Japan was told to be next to me. we engaged in some broken English and her gave me a reassuring smile. 

We were just settling down for some shut eye when a man pulled a TV Right in front of Amy face what was to be shown on that TV can only be described as Porn it was so distasteful its as if the young guys on the bus went out to find the most controversial Video for there own amusement. Amy turned the screen off straight away. So most of the way i tried every position to get comfortable but to no avail. My Japanese friend edged ever closer at times we may of even been spooning. between the times of 1am to 3 am a young Vietnamese kid who worked there started throwing his weight around for example slapping my feet as they hung out of the bed moving peoples beds turning lights on and off. This seems to be a trend in Vietnam as much as most people in Vietnam are lovely young Vietnamese lads on bus act like little Hitlers. So after one final disturbance some dodgy looking country boys in army gear arriving on the bus and told to sit on the floor. I managed to get some sleep at 3:30ish.

we arrived at the border crossing at 7am and was told to walk in the direction which was in between two mountains the mist was heavy and we were unable to see past 10 metres. there was any area of nothingness between Laos and Vietnam unsure if we were heading the right way we kept walking and finally arrived at Laos paid our money paid for the Visa and $1 for stamp and paid 10000 dong for the toilet but we had made it through. 

the lonely figure of a Canadian guy in a Canadian jump suit he had to pay more than any one else for some unknown reason. When he punched the shops metal shutter i presumed this was his only problem if only. The poor guy had his credit card ID card bank card and money stolen while he was asleep on the bus. This created an ill feeling on the bus and the accusations started to fly.  This debated was interupt by a bus a new bus pulling up to drive us to Vientiane. The Vietnamese of course got on first unsure whether our luggage had been transported over we were allowed on second. Now the people who got on at 3am had decided to take the decent seats and this provoke a massive reaction kick started by the French of course ever the protestors, she made a valid point we paid up to $35 dollars and these guys well no money was seen being exchanged. " SO CAN I SEE YOUR TICKET!" was the cry by the french lady. Me and Amy got two seats and were happy when our Japanese friend turned on us " you have my seat" to Amy first then to me " get out of my seat he said. I was heart broken I really felt we had bonded i was wrong so I had to stand my ground and say I have as much right as you but if you want it take it go ahead. he backed down instead inspired by the French revolution went on the rampage with the saying CAN I SEE YOUR TICKET.. This system became to much for a few and they swiftly sat back down. to the excitment of the French lady "there goes another one" she declared

the Japanese guy then went toe to toe with the Vietnamese telling them to shut up and pushing a shoving random members of the bus. To the amusment of the young bus workers. It was so hostile after that the young boys created all this agro and seemed to revel in it. the bus grew eerily silent until the Canadain guy offered everyone some Candy what a legend! and showed real charector to think of others when he had hit rock bottom himself

We arrived in Vientiane mentally disturbed and a very sleepy. The place we booked 2 days ago said there was no such booking. So we went everyone with heavy bags and tired minds as the Laos heat was booming down on us 3:30 pm i think. We Settled for RD guest house which had great reviews but was a tad pricey but we had to sleep.

 I went to sleep about 9pm but awoke at 3pm with a few itches damm it i thought mosquitoes couldnt see any i put tiger balm on on turn light off back to sleep, 4pm more itches light comes on very itchy indeed ah what is biting me i thought i searched the bed Amy awakens i tad fed up with the light being on then. Thats when i saw it I massive Bug surely not it cant be. Another one came crawling they are huge bigger then before we have bed bugs again! devastated is not even the word. You wait til i upload the pictures you'll be horrified. we left at 6am after a shower. 

we walked around looking like zombies. But that didnt frighten a couple who called us over for some green tea Razzal and Violla were so welcoming and really cheered us up. We got a guesthouse soon after Orchid which was awful but didnt seem to have bed bugs. For the whole day we pondered and contemplated whether this room also had them. we longed for a clean bed. I felt like a Nightmare on Elm Street Charector not wanting to go to sleep in case they came and got us in our dreams. I slept with one eye opened.....

Morning arrived we were safe. Razzal had shown us his room yesterday and it was amazing so this morning i have checked us in to Bencam guest house  it is amazing the best room we have stayed in. 

Today has been great thank god we had a shower ate a fry up and i found the new Alan Partridge book aha! We meeting Jordan and his girlfriend for Drinks later after the 72 hours we have had I dont mind if i do.

swings and roundabouts the life of a traveller. 

best wishes 

Adam  

Hanoi

Hello everyone

After a long bus ride (16 hours) from Hue, we arrived in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam. We were dropped off in the hustle and bustle a bit tired and groggy from the bus ride and found a taxi to take us to the area we were staying, which is an expat area where Adams ex-collegue's sister lives as a head teacher (Janice). We didn't now what to expect from this area, following the advice given to "not get ripped off by the taxi and make sure the meter is rigged", we rocked up in a quiet residential area filled with tall apartment buildings etc and surrounded by a huge and beautiful lake. We found the house and were greeted by Abdoulla (Janice's partner) we were welcomed into their home which was massive and very beautiful, with a private room and bathroom and the comfiest bed since leaving UK over 4 months ago. So you can imagine we were over the moon! After 4 months of shite rooms and no amenities we could relax and actually make ourselves a cup of tea :)
Abdoulla was amazing, he took us to a great spot to eat some Pho, which was delicious and took care of us for the next 4 days. I went into the city on the back of his Vespa, whilst Adam rode with a guy named Dion, also an expat from NZ. We ate in a great place for lunch and sampled all the local dishes and then visited the temple of literature and Ho Chi Minhs masouleum. We met Jan and Doulla's son Kai, who was adorable and promised when he next came to norfolk we would take him to a footie game. One night we visited some great bars where a lot of the expats get together, a good thing about living in that world is seeing the great hidden places which you would never find as a tourist. We walked around Hanoi lake which took around 3.5 hours, it was a great walk spotting fisherman etc, not so great when we saw some dogs that had been thrown in and drowned.....gross.
A mixture of seeing the tourist sights and living with expats, painted a really good picture of life in Hanoi and we loved every minute, a massive thanks to Janice, Doulla and Kai for looking after us.
After 4 days of luxury we begrudgingly took our night bus across the border to Vientiane in Laos, 20+ hours of......fun.

xxxx

Hue

Well the bags are packed up again but this time in record quick time 30 mins to wash and pack which is good for us.

So on route to Hue we went to the Marble mountains with Rob and Rich who we met earlier in our trip.these mountains rised up from the sea like well prepared  Yorkshire puddings ( there was no need for that simile i know) But the most emphatic moment was searching the caves within the mountains one in particular was massive and had a hug Buddha looking down. The cave itself was beautiful lit and had as much of a spiritual atmosphere as any place we have visited.

We then moved on to the Train station at Da Nang. the wait was made bearable by some amazing Vietnamese kids that wanted to play and seemed to be fascinated by my beard. Understandable as Vietnamese men do not don the beard at all. We scrambled onto the Train and sat back to enjoy the views from our window,This train ride is one of the best in the world snaking through the mountains and by the coast line it made a refreshing change to the bus journey a real treat. Even more impressive was a local man in his 60s/70s all in leather even gloves who sat next Amy im sure he was off to an audition to play Danny Zuko.

At Hue we found a hotel called goggle hotel. Which we thought was ok in fairness i think we just wanted to get out of the cold Hue is freezing compared to the rest of our travels. Everything felt great as we laid back in our room. until my nostrils detected a strong scent of fag ash. We immediately explored the room and found lots of ash and fags hiding in every nook and cranny . This massively disappointed me Its a disgusting habit anyway but the room had obviously not been cleaned. At the start of our trip i would have laughed it off but now i found it hard to except it was in a long line of rooms where something always seemed to be wrong.

Hue itself is very unique and boasts and array of Historic buildings and tombs , the first one we visited was The Imperial City (Vietnamese: Kinh thành Huế) a walled fortress and palace in the former capital of Vietnam,


on this trip we witnessed a lady with black teeth this has mortified Amy for days Amy has been trying to come to terms with the ordeal.

So the next day we thought we would be heroes and walk to Tu Duc temple a 5 hour round trip but it was worth it when we got there very peacefull resting place pictures to follow.


So im sitting here a tad achy and a bit tired so we are hoping this will help us sleep on the 12 hour night bus to Hanoi were me and Amy are staying With a couple called Janice and Abduala. Who have kindly put us up Janice is the sister of Elaine who i worked with in Norwich.....Thank you


well thats all for now here to Norwich beating Manchester united and surely securing our premiership survival

more vietnam

Hi,

In the last 2 weeks we have been to Da lat, Nha Trang and Hoi An. Da Lat is a hillstation which was similar to the cameron highland in Malaysia in terms of scenery and weather, although i found Da lat more attractive and another bonus is they produce their own wine. There were plenty of tours to do with the "easy riders" a group of bikers that take you around the surrounding countryside, we decided they were too expensive and also too cool for us so we spent our days walking around the town. There is a pretty impressive lake to walk around, a crazy house designed by some mental Russian and the kings summer palace which was cool. Most nights we ate in this restaurant/cafe owned by a little vietnamese lady who was actually bonkers but really nice and the food was good, we also met a nice couple from manchester - Rob and Rich, we caught up again with them in Hoi An.
Nha Trang was the next stop, extremely touristic beach resort BUT the best beach in Vietnam so happy to spend 3 days there, we then caught the night bus from there to Hoi An which was an odd experience. The bus slept around 30 odd people, adam and i both got a top bunk with some old timers snoring under us and some american girl behind us moaning the whole way, it was really bumpy and we almost collided head on with lorries numerous times but we made it 12 hours later to Hoi An. We immediately loved Hoi An, little winding cobbled streets with old french colonial era houses and lovely little cafes. We have visited lots of little museums and old houses, the japenese peace bridge at night is beautifully lit up with coloured lanterns and push bikes peacefully going past. Today we took a rowing boat up the river with a lady named Chun, she was in her 70's but rowed impressively along. We are planning on leaving tomorrow along with rich and rob, to the "marble mountains" and onto danang trainstation where we head to Hue, the train journey is supposedly the best in vietnam and will make a change to bus rides! looking forward to it.

xxxxx

Mui Ne

Cam on!!! this is Thank you in Vietnamese we are proud to announce that we are completely literate in niceties in 4 Asian countries is it because I iz English?

moving on to more relevant news we are having a cracking time in Mui ne which is best described as a windsurfers paradise. So the whole place ozes a surfers chilled out vibe which is a massive contrast to Ho chi minh. The first 2 days me and Amy opted to take a walk along the beach and around Mui ne one of the walks lasted 4 hours and was very pleasant with the view having a slight resemblence to a small greek town

after trying various places to eat around Mue ne we have set up camp in Mellows which is friendly good price and superb food. The fish here is fantastic and Amy finally had a chance to drink some red wine which is made at nearby Da Lat."  it tasted more like sherry but is was alright said Amy

today we fancied chilling by the sea as it was our last day. as we stepped foot on the beach we were greeted with strong winds and sand grains pricking our skin. So we brought a sun bed each for 75p to escape the worst of it. So we spent the most of the day lapping up the sun and watching the fantastic windsurfers which made for an immense sight. It came to the point when we braved the waves ourselves we both walked towards the crashing waves i jumped up in like an excited dog whilst Amy in a more gracefull manner took her time. now these waves were something else they could knock me clean off my feet so i was just about to warn Amy when crash a wave hits Amy and she is submerged i then notice that Amy still has her sun glasses on i was then about to shout then crash the wave comes in again one after the other and the Sea claims the sunglasses forever nooooooooooooooooooo.

on the walk back we met a cyclist from New Zealand i asked where have you biked from, he says from London. This guy has spent 10 months biking almost every country inbetween England and Vietnam absolutley insane. great effort mate!!

so tonight we have been invited to eat a fish bbq with a few German and polish friends then its up early to get the bus to Da Lat

i hope you're not all snowed in back home and the end is nigh as ITV news seems to report everytime a snow flakes is spotted.

thank you for reading

The heat is on in Saigon

Chao,

So we are finally in Saigon! and i can't stop singing that song from Miss Saigon. This place is actually mental busy, there are more mopeds than population of Australia, or something like that.
So far so good, loving Vietnam and the people and.....the bread! Thank the lord the French colonized this place! Although i'll probably put back on all weight lost through copious amounts of carbs.
So just to start off with, we arrived in Ho Chi Minh city absoulutely knackered from the bus journey from Cambodia, over the border (straightforward) and into this bustling place - tired, hungry and riddled with bedbugs. Some dirt hole in Cambodia gave us that freebie before we left, i shall name and shame in case anyone ever is in the area - "Sunday Guesthouse" Phnom Pehn. Anyways, Adam has suffered this before in Oz (maybe he never got rid of them.....) jokes, but i have never had the joys. I transformed into Kim from How clean is your house? or...Aggy, whichever the skinny one is.....and bypassed another bug ridden hostel to find a clean place on Bui Vien street. We put ALL of our belongings into the wash, all clothes and bags, and scrubbed ourselves clean. So far no sign of the critters, 17 quid later in laundry bills that is.
First day was spent walking around and getting our bearings, which is what we always do in the cities, we visited 3 museums, fairly interesting albeit slightly repeatitive. The second day we visited the war museum which was very good, completely anti american and french, gotta love that right? I don't know ALL the facts of the Vietnam war so it may have appeared one sided but i'm pretty sure from what i've learnt - it was all america's fault and they are dumb/ignorant fools. The museum had some of the old war aircraft and tanks outside, took some photos for my grandad to look at, may post them on here later.
Today we visited the Cu Chi tunnels, this was an amazing trip. The tunnels were dug out actually when the french began colonizing but were fanously used during america-vietnam war and when you see them, you realise how they mananged to outsmart the GI's and endure the war. We saw old boobytraps they built and learnt how they survived in the tunnels, they lived for periods of up to 3 months down there without coming to the surface once. All together they occupied the tunnels for around 2years, men and their families lived down there. I'm claustrophobic so i didn't venture into the tunnels which some have been widened for tourists but you still have to crouch and its very dark. Adam went down these ones and then went on to the original tunnels which he had to crawl through on his hands and knees. Apparently the air is very stuffy, its pitch black in places and scary! I can't imagine going down there for 5 minutes let alone living there for 2 years, but thats how the people of Cu Chi survived the war and good on them.
Tomorrow we head off to Muine, on the coast, more beach time! Then Da Lat (hillstation in the mountains) then Na trang which has a beautiful coastline apparently.
We are in 'Nam for a month and have a new SIM card therefore a new number whilst we are here, if you want the number the just inbox us on FB.
Until next time......platoon......over and out
Amy xxxxx

Cambodia pictures