Booked the tickets for Sapa yesterday, and so the bus leaves today at about 6, we are getting picked up from the hostel and then taken to the bus station before getting a 12 hour night bus to Sapa. I can safely say that I am not looking forward to a 12 hour bus journey, trains are one thing, but a bus, on these roads, that is an entirely different matter. So I spend most of the day mentally preparing myself for the potential disaster that may ensue. Before it is time to go I stock up on some food before the trip, a good kebab and dumpling combo sets me up nicely. I am told that the bus will get us between 6 and 7, but as is the Vietnam way nothing is on time. I think I am waiting until closer to 8. Then a minibus turns up and Alex and I get bundled in. It is a short trip to the bus station and then I get my first glimpse of the bus. It is like a tour bus, with space underneath for luggagge, then when you get on there are 3 rows of beds, 2 tall, 5 in each row, with 5 along the back. We just go in and pick any seat. I had been told that the top bunk was the better choice and so I pick that. It is just a fraction too small for me. You sit with your feet extended out in front of you, with room for a bottle of water and your shoes in front. The back is fully adjustable to a near flat position, which initially seems quite comfortable. Although as the journey progresses, the comfort factor is significantly reduced.
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Once the bus starts I instantly regret the choice of top bunk. The driver is throwing the bus in to the corners, and I am being flung about in my seat. I have such concern that I actually put my seatbelt on, I am fairly sure that I am the only one on the bus who has taken this precaution. Everyone else here appears to be an overnight bus veteran, and they are not all Vietnamese. It isn't long before I see my first cockroach, its not too big, but large enough to give me a jump, I casually flick it off my leg and further down the bus. There are 2 vents above my bed which are blowing out cold air, and I can adjust the direction and strength. So I am nice and cool, although I am concerned about breathing in the AC air for 12 hours and so I pull my buff over my face. There are four rainbow strip lights running the length of the bus on either side and above the bottom bunks as well. These are shinning right in my eyes and are making sleep difficult. Not as annoying as the sound from the movie that is playing, It is a Chinese kung fu movie, but it is dubbed in Vietnamese, and the dubbing is disproportionately loud compared to the volume of the voices in the actual movie. The actual movie is decent enough and entertains me for a few hours. The bus stops regularly during the first few hours, either to pick people up, or just for the bus driver to stop and have a cigarette. Then we stop somewhere to eat, for about 30mins, so everyone can get off and stretch their legs while the driver gets some chow. Also an opportunity to go to the toilet, as there is no toilet on the bus, I have taken the decision to drink little due to this fact.
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Back on the bus after the stop and back on the road, seatbelt on! I have pulled the buff over my eyes so it acts as a blindfold, giving me total blackout. This is good for a number of reasons, it makes it easier to sleep, and when I can't see the cockroaches, maybe they are not there. I adopt this approach for the duration of the journey and manage to get a few hours sleep, woken periodically when the music from the movie explodes through the speakers. I don't even think that anyone on the bus is watching it, yet there it is blaring away. With the bus drivers hone constantly going off I think he must be the most popular person in Vietnam. Of course he continues to drive while taking phone calls and smoking, so there is a real sense of safety as we are being flung in to the corners. Again the blindfold is the only option, sleeping in ignorance, my preferred choice.
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I am woken by the bus driver to inform us that we have arrived at our destination. All in all I don't think the journey felt that long, though I am glad to have arrived.