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Day 48: 26/7/13
I met the last remaining stragglers of the group this morning for breakfast- Dan, Mike, Amar and Denise. Geoff is still around but he's continuing on the next leg of the trip which is to Laos and leaves today. So after breakfast, Denise, Amar and I went up to his room to say goodbye. He had been fast asleep and didnt really know what was going on!! He's the only one of the whole 16 of us that is continuing on- last man standing!
We were going to go to the Mausoleum today but it's closed on Fridays aswell! They don't make it easy for tourists! Khoa had written down a few other things to see like Museums and a prison, but most of them were closed aswell, just because it was Friday! So we decided to take it easy instead!
Denise, Amar and I went to the markets. It was the same markets we went to the last day, but we were there at a much better time this time. They were packing up the last time and it looked like they didn't have anything at all, but in fact they have loads of stuff!! There were just tiny laneways in between the stalls- just wide enough for one person and each stall was absolutely jam packed with stuff. I don't know how the people got inside the stalls- there was just stuff everywhere!! There was no air con in there either, so it was majorly hot and sweaty!! We did a little bit of souvenir type shopping and then it was just piles and piles of clothes, mostly children's clothes. So we decided we needed to go outside for a breather! We had to walk ages before we could find water and then we went and sat down at a local bar near the market. The local bars and cafes are just little holes in the wall with plastic tables and chairs outside. By chairs, I mean what we would call a footstool- these people like to be low to the ground!! I don't know if I wrote it in other blogs or not, but they have a strange way of sitting on their hunkers- their feet are flat on the ground and their knees are completely bent so that their bums are almost on the ground. They seem to be able to actually balance and rest like that. I can't do it!! When I have my feet flat on the floor I just fall over!! Here though everyone does it- children, teenagers, adults and even old people that look like they shouldn't be able to bend over!
Anyway, we didn't have to sit like that at the bar! Amar and Denise had been here the last time they were at the markets and they said people kept coming over to sell them things. Sure enough, the same woman they had bought a lot of stuff from appeared again and tried to sell me everything user the sun! I bought a fan off her after great negotiation! A few minutes later another woman came along and had bigger fans for cheaper! You can't win!! They always make out you are doing them a great disservice and then you always find a cheaper price!
There were local Vietnamese guys beside us watching all these bartering. One woman was very persistent and none of us wanted to buy anything so eventually they told her to go away! Then they offers us some food and drink. They were eating plain noodles and snails!! They looked like a cross between a snail and a seashell so they were probably some sort of sea food. They had what looked like a bit of broken glass and were fishing out the slimy insides!! They must have eaten hundreds of them while we were there!! I didn't chance any but Denise did and thought it was alright! The locals were drinking clear liquid which seemed to be some kind of vodka. They were pouring it out of a big plastic gallon container, that looked like something you would put petrol in!! I didn't taste that either, but after two sips the other two could feel it going to their heads- God only knows what was in it!! Then the locals took out some kind of a bong and were smoking that. I don't know if it was tobacco or something stronger!! Probably a bit of everything!! It was a very entertaining shopping trip I must say! The local guys had no English, but were still all really nice and when we needed to go and showed them on the map where we wanted to go they showed us where to go.
We went back to the Puppet Theatre that we had been to a few days ago to meet Dan and Mike for lunch. It's nice there as there is a lake with lots of buildings around it and some monuments on little islands inside the lake. We had a quick juice at the theatre as we were all sweating mad and then we found a cafe which was on the top floor overlooking the lake. It was a bit stuffy as we weren't sitting in air con, but it was a good view! As well as the lake, the cafe was overlooking a few streets and you could watch all the traffic. There's a roundabout with three roads off it and then one of them breaks into two. There are no road markings, no traffic lights, no right of way and it still all works out!!
We attempted to do a little more shopping on Hang Gai street after that which has lot of touristy souvenir shops. After one or two shops we got tired though. We did walk most of it, but we didn't shop much!! We got a taxi back to the hotel then. It's really annoying that the hotel isn't in the Old Quarter where everything we need is.
We chilled in the hotel for an hour or two. Dan, Mike and Amar are doing a short tour to Sapa and leaving this evening so they used mine and Denise's room for showers and just to hang out before they'd go.
We went downstairs to say goodbye when they were leaving- another goodbye!! With Facebook you can always see what people are up to anyway so it's not a complete goodbye!
Denise and I met an hour or so later to go to a restaurant. The girl in reception gave us directions to one that was in walking distance- just about 20 minutes walk. It was a side of the hotel I hadn't walked before and we ended up passing KFC and Pizza Hut- the exact kind of places we were looking for with Ann-Marie, Hannah and Steph a few days ago!! We found the restaurant no problem and sat down at a table. We were only in and Denise started waving at someone and I was wondering who she would know- but it was three lads we had just said goodbye to!! They had come there for dinner before they left on the train and were just about to leave the restaurant!! We thought we'd seen the last of them!!
We didn't wait too long at the restaurants- just had our food and a drink. The door opened at one stage for customers to go out and there was a big massive bang like a gunshot that frightened the lives out of everyone in the restaurant! It was only thunder though, but I'd say it was right over our heads!! It started lashing rain then and the thunder and lightening lasted for ages. We had to get a taxi back to the hotel- there's no way you could walk in that! There were lots of motorbikes as usual and when it's raining they all have ponchos on, but I've never seen anyone out on a poncho- it's like magic- as soon as there is rain, the poncho is on!! The road was slippy I'd say and we saw a taxi across the road bump into a motorbike but he just wobbled and rode off!!
When we got back I just went straight to bed. I have to sort out my whole bag but I'll do it in the morning!! Ill try to get at least one more good nights sleep!
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