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.........The ten of us hired a mini bus to get us to the border, about 10 km from the border we stopped and had to hire a tuk tuk to take us across the border and to the nearest bus station on the other side, There were many tuk tuks and we bartered for nearly and hour to try and get the price down from 4 dollars each to 3 dollars. While we bartered we heard 3 landmines go off as they were clearing them nearby.
We needed a tuk tuk to go over the border not just to it as if we only got to the border it would mean all ten of us getting motorbike taxis with all our bags up and down mountains and we were told there may be only one or two available if we were lucky
We got to the border to be told that the workers were asleep and we would have to wait for them to wake up..... about two hours, we got our passports stamped and crossed in to vietnam and went through customs.
We finally got going again when our tuk tuk got stuck in the mud and we all had to get out and push it getting covered in mud. We got a local bus to take us to vinh, it took about six hours through rainforests we arrived at 12 o clock at night with no vietnam currency and we were the only two forriegners there. We got hounded by motorbike taxi drivers but we couldn't pay them to take us anywhere so we walked to find somewhere to stay. We were very teird, there was a lady who made us a sleeping signal and ushered us to the back of her shop, where there was a court yard of rooms she spoke no english and we used our phasebook to try and explain we couldnt pay till tomorrow, she nodded so we think she understood
The room was the dirtyest room ever it was riddled with cockroaches and moskitoes, but we were so tired we just went to sleep in all our clothes.
In the morning after braving the courtyard shower we decided to go for a walk EVERYBODY was staring at us like we were aliens. We found an ATM and then went for somthing to eat the only place we could find had the most awful menu including the englsh traditions ie snake vomit, bears bile and fried porcupine, we thought we played safe and ordered what wea described as deep fried shrimp in morning glory water, but when it arrived it was fish eye and vegetable soup so we just pushed it around for a bit and left
We were saved by the only english speaking person called Hai who sorted us out an on going bus ticket, and advised us to leave as soon as we could he told us people dont stop here. The next bus was at one o clock in the moring so we went to a bar and then a nightclub with Hai which was an unbelieveable expieience
We waited for the bus and were told the driver would sort us out a seat but when it arrivived it was packed full and the driver passed us 2 mats and we had to lie an the floor... nice... it took us 7 hours
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