Travelling again

So as I write this we are on our way to Laos, Luang Prabang. This was the journey I had been dreading, I hadn't properly explained it to Kinga but it involves 30 hours on a sleeper bus, with no toilet over bumpy jungle roads, basically Hell. In a sick way I was quite looking forward to it, I see uncomfortable bus journeys as a rite of passage for travellers, the harder the journey the more you deserve the destination. Anyway, I sat down and over breakfast explained how this leg of the journey will work, where we will get on and off the bus, how we sleep on the bus and just ask when we want to go to the toilet and he will stop to let us do our business at the side of the road. I am currently sat on a plane! Funnily enough, even my softest "it'll be over before you know it" didn't work. To be fair it's probably worked out well for me as it's just an hours flight as opposed to 30 hours on a bus and I get a good excuse when we talk to fellow travellers about our journey from Hell. 

So where did I leave you last?

We only had one day in Hue so we booked a tour, a cruise on the perfume river and checking out some of the mausoleums in the area. Hue used to be the capital so some pretty important people died around here and thier burial sites were pretty spectacular. The perfume river is so called as upstream there are loads of blossom trees that drop their load into the river, as it floats through the city it creates a wonderful perfumed aroma. I think that was probably right a few decades ago, now it smell like every other Vietnamese city, like mopeds. 

That evening we were back on the train heading to Hanoi, we had stocked up on pot noodles so we missed the banana leaf gate incident again. This time the train was pretty good, I slept well at least.

We arrived in Hanoi and just had a relaxing day. As a City Hanoi seems a little more peaceful than HCM did, there is a large lake and park and less people to sell you stuff, that's good for my weight allowance! During our time here we wandered around the Botanincal Garden which included playing with a monkey. It was in a cage but had a little stick, it looked like he was trying to prise the bars apart. If you tried to take the stick from him he wasn't happy. After a while I think the tables turned and he was playing with us. He kept holding the stick out for us then pulling away at the last second, cheeky little guy. Apart from that we basically just walked a lot and looked at things.

The next day was what we were looking forward to, Ha Long Bay. HLB is the epitome of Vietnam. Crystal clear water with rocky limestone outcrops towering over you, covered in lush mini jungle. Ever since I was a boy I looked a pictures of this place and similar wanting to someday go there and now is my time. It is a 4 hour bus ride there, do the cruise around the bay and visit a floating island before a 4 hour bus ride back again. It will be a long day but well worth it. So we got on the bus and 4 hours later we were there, I could just see the outline of the nearer peaks on the horizon. We were told to wait, so we did, we waited...and waited...and waited. After about an hour the guide came back and told us all boats have been cancelled due to a typhoon of the coast further south, I was distraught. Of all the days for an Asian country to finally give a shit about health and safety? We were left there for another 2 hours, sitting on the hard concrete floor being teased by the horizon before we were hearded back onto the bus and back to Hanoi. That was probably my only chance to be there and we got so close. One thing you learn as you go round though, is no matter how bad you have it, someone has it worse. There was an American family who were staying in in HCM, flew up especially to visit Ha Long, stayed one night and were flying back that evening. Eight people all together wasted all that money and probably had a crap time like us!

Most evening were spent drinking Bia Hoi at beer corner. That is actually the name of an area, funnily enough I liked it there. Bia Hoi translates to fresh beer and it is that simple made during the night and sold to next day. It has no preservatives in it so it has to be all sold by then end on the day or it will go off. I was more than happy to do my bit to help, oh it is also outrageously cheap, about 20p a pint. We made a few friends over some fresh beer, sitting on the street on our little plastic stools. The sad thing is the beer normally runs out by 10, but at 12 the police come round and shut every one down. We did find a lock in one night but otherwise we have been well behaved. Quality wise it is like a light lager but it all depends on how much the owner has decided to water it down that day.

So all in all a few good days interspersed with extreme disapointment but we are safe and well and now in Luang Prabang, Laos. Hope you are all well. Photos to follow so keep an eye out.

Additional...I saw something on the way to the airport that you wouldn't think possible, a man asleep on the back of a moped whilst being driven at speed, either that or he was dead, strange to see.