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Many of you will have seen my facebook about my gruelling 18 hour bus journey north from Hoi An to Hanoi! Rosie and I rocked up to a small and very empty seated bus. Today's the day I lost all dignity 4 hours on a bus a berocca and a ton of water did not mix well! I slunk off to the back and did my business in a bottle! Oh the life of a traveller. I was pretty proud of my efforts! Felt pretty grim though...
We got to Hué in good time and changed buses. I bought an interesting sandwhich from a lady and her cart, no idea what was in it but it tasted pretty good, pretty sure there was dog somewhere in it! On board the new sleeper bus, I was at the top of the central aisle. For the Vietnamese I'm sure this would be fine, for a 6'2 westener it was less than comfy! Rosie provided relief in the form of Valium, definitley numbed the pain! We stopped off in a dingy cafe for food and continued the epic journey north.
As the journey progressed, there was a noticeable dip in the temperature which culminated with Hanoi where hoody and trousers were the order of the day! Off the bus, Rosie and I bundled into a taxi with two other girls to the Hanoi Backpackers Hostel. I'm not going to lie though, the road Rosie led us down looked less than savoury that early in the morning. The hostel turned out to be really nice, I checked into Club Paradise and tiredness finally caught up with me, I was gone!
I finally came too and took a wander round the city, I was in search of the post office - map in hand, determination in my heart...neither proved any use! I'm not sure if it's me or the structure of Vietnamese cities but their concept of a 'good' map is pretty tenuous! I got horrifically lost. After a huge loop of the Old Quarter I did finally arrive at the post office where communist Vietnam presented itself in all it's glory. I don't think I've ever filled out so many forms just to send a package. Half an hour later my task was completed!
I roamed the streets some more until I wound up back at the hostel - again taking much longer than you would expect. Back at the hostel I met Rosie and some other girls and we head to the hostels rooftop BBQ. Got talking to Steve and Cheryl and booked myself onto a trip to Ha Long Bay with Cheryl for the 14th. The hostel bar closed and we hit a place called 'Hair of the Dog' where I met the crazy Norweigians, Camilla and Caroline! The party came to an end when the Vietnamese boys in blue ushered us home.
My first impressions of Hanoi are slightly mixed, the city is grimey with little to do withou venturing for hours on a bus but the hostel has a wicked vibe and it's a great place to meet people and organise a rendezvous elsewhere round the world.
We got to Hué in good time and changed buses. I bought an interesting sandwhich from a lady and her cart, no idea what was in it but it tasted pretty good, pretty sure there was dog somewhere in it! On board the new sleeper bus, I was at the top of the central aisle. For the Vietnamese I'm sure this would be fine, for a 6'2 westener it was less than comfy! Rosie provided relief in the form of Valium, definitley numbed the pain! We stopped off in a dingy cafe for food and continued the epic journey north.
The lovely lady serving up fido!
As the journey progressed, there was a noticeable dip in the temperature which culminated with Hanoi where hoody and trousers were the order of the day! Off the bus, Rosie and I bundled into a taxi with two other girls to the Hanoi Backpackers Hostel. I'm not going to lie though, the road Rosie led us down looked less than savoury that early in the morning. The hostel turned out to be really nice, I checked into Club Paradise and tiredness finally caught up with me, I was gone!
I finally came too and took a wander round the city, I was in search of the post office - map in hand, determination in my heart...neither proved any use! I'm not sure if it's me or the structure of Vietnamese cities but their concept of a 'good' map is pretty tenuous! I got horrifically lost. After a huge loop of the Old Quarter I did finally arrive at the post office where communist Vietnam presented itself in all it's glory. I don't think I've ever filled out so many forms just to send a package. Half an hour later my task was completed!
I roamed the streets some more until I wound up back at the hostel - again taking much longer than you would expect. Back at the hostel I met Rosie and some other girls and we head to the hostels rooftop BBQ. Got talking to Steve and Cheryl and booked myself onto a trip to Ha Long Bay with Cheryl for the 14th. The hostel bar closed and we hit a place called 'Hair of the Dog' where I met the crazy Norweigians, Camilla and Caroline! The party came to an end when the Vietnamese boys in blue ushered us home.
Crazy Norwegian Dancing!
My first impressions of Hanoi are slightly mixed, the city is grimey with little to do withou venturing for hours on a bus but the hostel has a wicked vibe and it's a great place to meet people and organise a rendezvous elsewhere round the world.
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