Nightmare on the road to Laos

I can't even begin to describe the nightmarish experience of the 30 hour bus ride. Things did not begin well. I was told there'd be a pick up and a man showed up and asked if I was going to Luang Prabang and then signaled that I should follow. No other indication. Whenever I tried to ask if it was the right company or who he worked for he would get angry and gesture wildly to keep walking. At one point, after walking through Hanoi with my backpack, picking up people along the way, I stood in front of his motorbike (that's right, he was NOT walking) to get a clear answer and he smacked my hand and scratched me. By now I was seething. I was about to sit on a bus for 30 hours and I was sweating my butt off walking around....not exactly what I'd call a pick up. Nobody seemed to know what was going on but no one seemed worried, I guess it comes from travelling alone, but you have to be cautious. Something seemed off. After 30 minutes of walking we finally arrived at our stop and we stood in the heat waiting for a minibus. When one arrived we crammed in, bags and all and continued for a few more stops. We had so many people that they were standing in the stairwell of the van/minibus. And the pickup guy was not getting any nicer. He was pushing people from behind to get them to move faster into the bus, which was full. We drove for awhile and then backed in to a driveway and got off. We stood on the side of the road until someone came and got us and walked us a short distance to the bus station. We handed over our passports and waited around with confused looks on our faces. The van split in two (those going to Luang Prabang and those going to Vientienne). The guy who seemed to be leading us began to walk away but I did not have my passport back. I said something and he went back to the counter where they just happened to be waiting. Finally we were on our way down a 2 storey ramp and towards our bus. A few people left their bags beside the bus and a few shoved them under the bus and on they went. I waited to see what was happening as I did not have a good feeling. There was A LOT of cargo. The guy standing on the roof started signalling for us to send our backpacks up....not likely. I flat out refused and everyone followed with me, though not loudly. Do people not care about these things? Finally they loaded some cargo on the roof and our bags were piled into an underneath compartment, though I was a bit worried. We got on and drove around picking up even more cargo for a good 3 hours. We finally stopped for dinner at around 10:30 that night. We got back on and throughout the night I woke up to them loading cargo. At one point I saw them moving backpacks and I watched but they were moving them onto the bus. Someone moved in beside me, we'd started with only half the bus being full. In the morning we had a full bus....full of people and cargo. The aisle was full. The seats, which sit about 2.5 feet in the air and have legs that stick straight out, are empty underneath with a lot of room for more storage. When we woke up there was stuff up to the seats, to get off we literally had to climb the aisle. People were evensleeping in empty areas under the seats and squeezing through a hole in the cargo (think x-files crawling). That morning we got to the Laos border at 8:30. Our first rest stop as well so the line for toilets was long. We handed over our passports to get stamped out of Vietnam and waited for them to call our name. I got mine back right away and began climbing the road to the Laos border. We filled out some Visa forms and handed over a picture. He kept a pile of the passports and when everyone was done he flipped the pile over and we began to pay. We then went to receive a stamp. Done. Thinking we'd be stopping for breakfast was a mistake. Our next stop was 1:30pm. By then we all needed a toilet again and we were starving. My first goal was to find an ATM, I did that and then enjoyed some fried rice. Back on the bus. We drove the next 6 hours speeding over windy turns. I started to feel carsick so I went to sleep. Last stop.......Luang Prabang at 9:30. We got off the bus in the pouring rain to tuk tuk drivers demanding exhorbant fees for a short jaunt, because they could. I arrived to my Guesthouse feeling so disappointed. I only hope it gets better.

No one who worked on the bus spoke English so we couldn't communicate with them. If we tried to get off when they were loading/unloading cargo we got yelled at and one girl got assaulted while she slept but we couldn't do anything because no one understood. I felt so helpless and vulnerable. It was not a nice feeling or experience. My advice: FLY!

Night on Halong Bay

Floating markets and village

Surprise Cave!

Can you spot the monkey in the cave? Clue: it's made of rock!

Halong Bay

The city in a bend of a river....and Halong Bay

It was a long bus ride North to Hanoi (name translates to my clever title) but I was glad to have Esther's company and to be on to new places. We broke up the 16 hour ride by watching a movie in my sleeper seat, which had more room as it was at the front. Afterwards it was sleep or do nothing since the reading lights didn't work and the bus was dark. I slept off and on but was a little rattled by the swaying side to side motion of the bus. The driver decided that turning the music on 5 am would be OK since, you know, nobody's sleeping or anything! I dozed off and on after that until we arrived. A short walk to our hostel and we were able to check in right away. We went upstairs and changed before eating breakfast. We ran into Hannah, a girl that Esther had met in HoiAn and set out to buy various tour tickets from a recommended travel agency. After doing our research I assumed that MisLy (Miss Ly) would be an old lady. Nope, she was a young woman with a serious face. She was efficient and honest and right away we all trusted her. I'd been going in to ask about a bus to Laos as well as Halong Bay. We all had different schedules but after some discussion decided to go together to Halong Bay and share a room. We figured it would be much more fun to go as three as opposed to one! We walked around some more that day, just seeing the old city and were ready to leave by the next morning. We left our big bags at the hostel, taking only backpacks with us for the one night on the boat. We ate breakfast and then waited and waited for our mini bus to arrive. It was quite late but finally arrived. It had been forced to drop a couple off who had forgotten something. Instead of meeting the bus at the next pickup they demanded they pick them up again. Didn't seem fair to me, especially since we ended up being 45 minutes behind on the whole day.

A short 4 hour ride, with a stop half way at a government agency helping handicapped people with art (there are a lot of these through Asia and they always use them as rest stops). We got on the boat and were shown our room, which was lovely, with a double and a single bed. We had some time to enjoy the view before we had lunch. Lunch was served family style and there were many choices. It was good but not great and I was still a bit hungry at the end. Aw well. A bit more free time and we loaded a smaller boat that led us to a floating village where we paired off to get into kayaks. Unfortunately, even though no one has ever fallen in (I asked), we were told not to bring cameras in the kayaks even though the view was fabulous. I went with an older man from France whose wife had chosen not to partake. We rowed our way to a small cave where we were informed fishermen live during different parts of the year. Next we rowed to a floating village where people lived in houses/huts that are tied together in the water. They are not on any kind of land. They can get their shopping when a local lady arrives with a boat full of food or there's another floating market with fresh fish, though I doubt they are short on this! We learned that 4000 people live in Halong Bay in floating villages. They don't go on land unless they decide to go to school. The government has started schools for the children but it means they have to live away from their families. They live here all year round and have everything they need. It was fascinating to see...I mean a deep freeze on a boat! Next we went to Surprise Cave which is....duh duh duh......a huge cave. It's pretty touristy though with sidewalks and lights. It was still beautiful!

After passing the monkey we loaded back onto our small boat which drove us to our home for the night. First we stopped at a floating market where the staff bought fish for our dinner. I know where fish come from AND what they look like but I don't really like knowing that they are suffocating in a plastic bag for me.....ick.  After returning to the boat we showered and got dressed for dinner which was served the same way as lunch. Afterwards, us three girls sat around talking as the boat staff prepared for karaoke. On the TV they were playing old music videos which we thoroughly enjoyed watching and making fun of. Some of them I didn't know as they were European but we had some good laughs anyways. We headed to bed early, and before karaoke as we were all tired.

The next day was a bit of a disappointment. It started out with toast being prepared a good half an hour before we were eating. So, if you know my dad you know this is definitely unacceptable....not to mention when we finally did eat the cold toast, most of it was also chewy from humidity! Awesome combination! Afterwards we went to a small tourist island, called Chill Out Beach, with all the other tours. After 40 minutes we were back on the boat to check out. Then we waited for lunch, we waited for the boat to take us to the mini van after lunch, and we waited for the mini van. I wish they would have planned more things but all well. Back to Hanoi. Esther wasn't hungry so Hannah and I went out in search of cheap street food for dinner. And we scored big time. BBQ ribs or chicken with rice and veggies for 35 000 dong...less than $2! And it was fantastic. Hannah left the next morning so we woke up and had pancakes and fruit salad together as a send off. The rest of the day we wandered and saw more of the city. We returned and had BBQ for lunch. Afterwards we chilled for the afternoon as we both had night buses to catch. And mine was a doozie....30 hours to Luang Prabang and I heard it was a nightmare drive. Can't wait! I wish I'd had more time in Hanoi, it's a lovely city but I'm itching to keep moving as I can feel the clock ticking my time away!

Hanoi

Hué......short but sweet

Sometimes it's nice to be given reviews on places you are going and other times it causes you to miss out on something really special. Hué was one of those places that many people said wasn't worth seeing. I booked a night there, more to give myself a break from the bus than any desire to see it. I am glad I had some time to explore because it ended up being a lovely town, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The Perfume river runs through the centre and the rubble of the Royal Imperial Palace takes up a huge section of the old town, though it doesn't feel that big on the inside. Dragon boaters offer to drive you along the shores and cyclo drivers (a bicycle with a seat in front) aplenty want to take you anywhere at all. Then there's the easy riders, drivers of motorbikes along the coast of Vietnam which is meant to be an amazing trip. They are so friendly but really want to take you somewhere, anywhere. Esther and I wandered through the market, eyeing up all sorts of weird buys. Dried fish among the unidentifiable. Though the cyclo drivers are said to be the most aggressive salesmen in Vietnam, I just shut out their calls and enjoyed the delightful Hué. The citadel, now in ruins from wars and natural disasters, is not as exciting as others I've seen but is beautiful in it's own right. Surrounding the town are various tombs, which I am disappointed I didn't have time to see. So I've learned that it's important to hear reviews but take them with a grain of salt as many hidden gems can be found when you open your mind and go with the flow.

Citadel

The former Royal Imperial Palace

Hue

City Of Lanterns

After a fairly uneventful overnight bus ride, we arrive in HoiAn. Driving over beautiful bridges where fishing boats bobbed in the water and the sun rose in the horizon is the scene I saw as I awoke. Luckily, my hostel had a bus pickup and they arrived right on time. As it was 6:30 am there was nothing much happening at the hostel. But we left our bags and had an amazing buffet breakfast with every kind of food you could imagine. Fruits, toast, noodles, rice, made to order eggs, and so much more. It may be one of the best breakies I've had on my trip! Afterwards I sat out by the pool enjoying the quiet and the sun. It wasn't long before the place picked up and I was glad I had a pool lounger. I relaxed the morning away, snoozing occasionally and running into old friends I'd met elsewhere. It was a lovely morning. After a quick lunch I wandered towards town and the tailor, that had been recommended to me, to see about dresses. Afterwards, I found my way into a market area where I was enticed into a small room with a curtain as a door for a back massage....I felt like pizza dough being kneaded hurridly. She offered to razor, yes razor, my heels with a straight blade (as in what they use to shave men's faces) but I politely declined. It was clear she was not a professional. After finding my way to a tailor factory and then escaping, I found myself in a shoe shop where I had a pair of sandles made for $14, leather and everything! A woman then led me to her "shop" for a foot rub but I ended up with her and her sister threading my armpits. For those of you who need a more detailed description, this is how it went: She called her sister who arrived to stand behind my chair and hold my arm up, and at some points pull my skin tight (remember this is all about the armpit). The woman then took a long piece of thread and somehow, by twisting it, was able to remove the hair. It pulls the hair up out of the hair shaft/follicle and than "plucks"it out. I don't know the science of it but it's really quite interesting to watch but very painful to experience! It's worth it though, no shaving for a month! Afterwards her sister convinced me to do my legs.....I was told it would take half an hour but in reality I sat there for an hour and a half and it was excruciating. I'm sure it looks great, and they told me it would help me find a husband but I'm sure there are easier ways! They thought it was so funny to tease me that they said they'd already gotten 5 kg of my hair out of my legs.....which of course would be impossible. I'm not sure I'll ever thread my legs again! Ouch! There's always a little lady waiting in the wings to take you to the next stall or shop but I managed to escape and found my way back to the tailor to put in my order!

I met Esther, a girl I'd met on the bus, for dinner and we chose a local Vietnemese restaurant next door which was delish! The next day I went with Esther to her own fittings where she was having a suit made. We wandered the markets and found the Japanese covered bridge before my fitting in the early evening. We found a little place for dinner and walked through the night market. All of HoiAn's old city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its a cute little village like city. The next day we were up early for a tour of Myson, a temple complex not unlike Angkor Wat. It is much smaller, though older, but was mostly destroyed by bombings during the war. It was first discovered by a French explorer. Unfortunately, the french also felt it necessary to take the heads from the statues, where they now live in Le Louvre. This complex of temples also started as Hindu but was converted to Buddhism. They are beautiful ruins surrounded by a green backdrop. Though sadly the jungle used to cover the temples it was so thick, most of it has been cut away. A few more fittings were scheduled for after our tour so we grabbed a quick burger at our hostel, which turned out to be microwaved yuk, before getting the shuttle to town. We found a lovely little local restaurant near the night market for dinner which had awesome reviews and enjoyed a great (and cheap) meal. Sadly, after 4 attempts, the shoes just weren't fitting or cut right, I argued for a discount and because there were customers outside, and because maybe she knew I was right, she gave me a full refund....so sad that I don't have my own custom made sandals. Esther had one more fitting and then we walked back in the pouring rain! Boo!

Our last day in HoiAn and Rachel and Andy had arrived! We chatted for a bit and then were back for some more fittings before meeting my favourite couple for lunch! We wandered around a bit and walked back to the hostel where I relaxed by the pool for the remainder of the day. That evening we stopped to pick up my dresses and the four of us went to a great restaurant with beer for less than 10¢.....I had something else! Haha It was delicious but it was late and everything was closed so we wandered back to the hostel where I showed off my new dresses before bed. Another goodbye with Rachel and Andy! An early bus awaits me to Hue the next morning!

HoiAn