The journey from hell wasn't quite as hellish as we'd thought it might be, though perhaps the bus company might want to rethink it's branding of the bus as a "sleeper". Very little sleep was had as the seats were a) only about 4ft long when reclined, b) half of that was the "foot coffin" that you couldn't actually get your legs into and c) the roads were so windy that if you could manage to get comfortable you risked rocking out of your seat at every turn! We banded together with the other westerners - 3 lads from Leeds, 2 Aussies, 2 Canadians and a Russian - on the bus and used strength in numbers to get through the rather confusing border crossing, having to walk across no-mans-land from Laos to Vietnam in the 7am mist before they'd let us back on the bus and greasing the border guards a little to get our visas stamped.

Eventually we rolled into Hanoi and to our hostel where we found free beer a-flowing. On first impressions we were quite taken with Hanoi - it's a lively place with lots of motorbikes and people buzzing around - though the arduous bus journey had taken it's toll so we hit the hay in preparation for a day of sight seeing; unfortunately the day of sightseeing was planned for a Monday which seems to be the day that everything in Hanoi is shut. We manged to pass the time drinking Vietnamese coffee (which is strong enough to knock your socks off), wandering around the maze of streets avoiding motorbikes and taking in a performance of the 'world famous' and ever so slightly whimsical Water Puppetry - a fine introduction to Vietnamese culture.
Next it was off to Halong Bay for a 2 day cruise through the beautiful limestone karsts aboard a traditional 'junk'. On the journey to the harbour we bumped into the Canadians from the bus trip and found out we'd be on the same trip. Once out on the boat the crew cooked up a delicious lunch of fresh squid, prawns, noodles and various other treats. We had a great time chatting to the other people on the boat and admiring the slightly misty scenery. A little later, after a brief spell in a kayak, we arrived at one of the hundreds of caves and took a stroll through the giant cavern looking at the stalactite formations. The evening delivered another delicious dinner with more fresh seafood, after which we wiled away our time playing cards and other silly games with the others on the boat. The next morning it was time for us to start the journey back to Hanoi and for the others in the group to head to an island for another night. Halong is a great place and we'd both have gladly spent another night on the bay, but time was forcing our hand.

Fortunately the return to Hanoi meant that we could go off and explore the sights that we had missed a few days earlier. We were really lucky that the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum complex was open and that Uncle Ho was back from his annual trip to Russia (his body gets taken there to make sure that it is embalmed properly). It's quite a surreal experience to process through the Mausoleum itself (i got told off for talking - oops!) and see his waxy body lying there 40 years after his death. We also explored the museums and grounds before heading to the Ethnology Museum which though very interesting was a little too much reading for us. Our stay in Hanoi was rounded off with some great duck in a restaurant where the staff was extremely excited about a football match between Vietnam and Burma (which Vietnam won 7-1) so much so that they were leaping up and down every time the team got near the 18 yard box.
The thought of another two 24 hour buses to Hoi An and Saigon was a little too much for us so we treated ourselves to some luxury plane travel which made for a very easy trip. Unfortunately the rains had arrived in the small colonial town and we weren't able to get out and about to explore as much as we'd have hoped. It also meant that we found ourselves at the mercy of the tailors (which are everywhere in the town) almost as soon as we arrived. We spent an eternity picking out materials, getting measured up, going back for several fittings and chatting to the ladies at the shop. It was money well spent and i'm now the proud owner of a lovely silk dress and made to measure sandals and Alan looks very dapper in his fancy suit and tie. Aside from our trips to the tailors we dodged the downpours in various cafes and bars around town. We even bumped into Darryl and Jess the Canadians again and had an evening of delicious food, cheap beer and very bad pool playing.
Our final stop in Vietnam was Saigon or Ho Chi Minh City as it's now known. Having bagged ourselves a bargain of a hotel room we braved the insane traffic and wandered around the city centre. We managed to dodge the swarms of scooters and find ourselves a trendy coffee shop that did very good club sandwiches (what?! sometimes you just need a break from the noodles!!). The next day we went to the war relics museum and independence palace they were very interesting but thoroughly exhausting in the heat. We tried to restore our strength in what we thought was a nice, air conditioned coffee house but was in fact a techno-Christmas-carol nightmare. Only the sanctuary of our hotel room was enough to perk us back up for an evening of 10 pin bowling. Despite getting a strike on both of my first goes i still thought it best to let Alan beat me twice (you know what he's like!). The next day we had an easy day walking around the swanky part of town to the Cathedral, exploring the markets and refreshing our wardrobes with some fancy and not at all fake t shirts from the market.
We had a fantastic time exploring Vietnam and it's a shame that we've not had more time to see more of this incredibly diverse country. What makes it all the better is that when we were wandering around the cities of Vietnam, it felt like the normal lives of the locals were just ticking along around us. But alas it's time to move on to Cambodia where we'll meet up with Joey for 10 days exploring.
Until next time.
K and A xxx