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So we arrived in Hanoi and arranged a pick up with our hostel, expecting a shabby minibus but were actually greeted with our own fancy personal chauffeur! However once we were on the road we realised it doesn't matter what you're driving, the likelihood of crashing into one of the 1000s of scooters around you is pretty high. So we were holding on for dear life until we got to our hostel. Trying to cross the roads was another obstacle though but apparently confidence is key.
We spent the next day wandering around the city and after all that walking it was only right that we went to a posh bar with a beautiful view overlooking the lake and lush cocktails (however we were being stared at as if to say what are you girls doing here ha). We were then approached by a Vietnamese girl who wanted to practice her english, however I felt more like she was coming on to me as she said "if I was a lesbian, I'd try and flirt with you" and that I have "very strong skin"...what does that even mean? We headed back to the hostel as she whispered "your smoking" in my ear, I mean I felt great for the rest of the day hahaha we then enjoyed our free beer happy hour at the hostel where we then spent the night playing cards and watching Rhiannon do a "sexy" dance for losing!
After another lengthy bus journey we arrived at Ha long Bay where we spent a night on a boat enjoying one of the natural wonders of the world. It was all so beautiful and being able to enjoy it all with cocktails in hand was a bonus! We also got the opportunity to jump off the boat and after about half an hour of trying to convince Sarah that she wasn't going to die we all got in. Then we had 1 hour to drink 20litres of beer, including beer pong....it turns out all those games in Spain and Uni pre drinks came in handy as I managed to win all the games (even against the bartender, who to be fair probably couldn't even see the cups he was that smashed). I then decided to attempt to catch fish at stupid o'clock in the morning, which I then massively regretted as I caught a giant jelly fish and felt really bad so then made tom, who we met on the boat, cut the line off and set it free. We spent the next morning kayaking which me and Sarah mastered....by the end.
It was time for another night bus, dreading it as all our other experiences haven't been so comfortable. When actually the sleeper buses are very different in Vietnam. It was pure luxury with bunk beds, blankets, free water and wifi! However going to the toilet whilst the bus was driving on a not so straight road became pretty difficult, being flung around the toilet whilst attempting to get your shorts off, it took me about 10 minutes just to do that!
We then arrived in Hue where we went for a walk exploring the local food markets (being pointed and laughed at by the locals for I still don't know what reason ha). I then went to the park while the girls had a nap and was again approached by two Vietnamese students wanting to practice their English, however this time didn't feel like I was being hit on haha me and Rhiannon then decided to meet some of the guys from our boat trip in a hotel with a pool...as we turned up we realised it was a really fancy hotel and had no idea how we were supposed to get in. Rhiannon just said walk with confidence, so we made it through the reception area, half way down the stairs until we heard "excuse me, where are you going?". Damn it nearly got away with it but we then had to go and pay to use the pool. After spending the afternoon chilling by the pool plaiting the boys hair, yes that's right, it turned out they had longer hair than Rhiannon's ha we headed to a bar for some pub grub (yes I'm sick of noodles already ha) and ended up playing a pub quiz which we ended up losing but winning for best name "I was raped by dolphins" haa we ended up pretty merry with lots of free shots and decided to grab a baguette off a street stand which tasted like perfume but I mean a girls got to eat!
With an early morning start we headed to Hoi An where we decided to go for the cheaper taxi option (cheaper being that it was a scooter)...with me, Rhiannon and bags somehow on board we were good to go...we got there in one piece though! We went for a walk around the markets (note to self, don't ask how much things are as you will get followed down the street whilst they are shouting offers at you). Also, apparently jewellery happy hour exists ha! But after a lot of hard bargaining we managed to grab a bite to eat....the best spring rolls yet!!! On our way back we thought we would go via the tailors just to have a "look"....4 dresses, 3 jumpsuits, 1 play suit and a pair of jeans later I think we had eventually had enough ha!
One of the days a group of us decided to rent some scooters, initially not too sure if it was a good idea seeing as I had only even ridden one once before for like 2minutes...however we went for it anyway! Surprisingly I did pretty well, managed to get to the beach with no issues. But because the girls had gotten on the guys scooters we only had one scooter to get to the tailors and back...so somehow Sarah AND Rhiannon got on the back and the three of us miraculously got there and back in one piece haha. We also went to the marble mountains which was a really cool mountain with lots of caves with different Buddha statues, however getting up that mountain seemed a like a little flash back to our Matchu Picchu days. That night we decided to go for a few drinks (to be precise buy one cocktail and get a bottle of vodka free....we would be stupid not to). When actually Anna would be stupid to as the vodka shots were then turned into how many will Anna say no to....and that would be 0.
No surprise I was hanging out in the morning but all ready to go for our cooking class we had booked. When I woke up I couldn't tell if I was still drunk or something was seriously wrong with Sarah's face...it turns out Sarah has bad reactions to bites and had been bitten in the middle of her forehead resulting in her forehead and eyes swelling making her face resemble one of an avatars, or as Sarah thought more Quasimodo looking hahaha. But she was trooper and still did the cooking class which was really cool as we got to go to the local markets to buy the ingredients and then went back to make our very own spring rolls, cao lau (which is the tastiest noodle dish from Hoi An) and a ginger chicken dish...which we were way too full to even eat. We picked up our last bits from the tailors, where Sarah got nursed by the dad of the family who ran the tailors, he even went to the pharmacy for her and picked up some meds for her...the sweetest thing ever! But we did buy half the shop after all ha. It was time to move on again but I think we could have stayed in Hoi An for weeks, the best place yet....however I don't think our bank balance would be able to handle it!
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