Hoang Thanh Plaza Hotel Hanoi

... taxi over on some deserted street and rob the person of everything they have... but there is something especially upsetting about a driver who pulls a knife to rob you, but not rob you of everything you own, just some arbitrary set amount that he decided he now wants.

Admittedly shaken up, but still with some money on us, we didn't let this ruin our time in Hanoi. We caught a different cab, checked into the correct hotel, and settled ...

... about follow the action by checking out the programme. Our favourite puppets were the fox that caught a duckling and climbed up a tree and the people farming and fishing - they threw water around and everything. Afterwards we walked back into the old town and found a crossroads that had 4 bars - 1 on each corner. We chose one, sat on plastic stools and enjoyed 25c NZ homebrew whilst watching the world go by.

Wednesday 21st October - Hanoi

This morning we checked ...

... as I've come from Nanning by a series of buses through Friendship Pass which is one of the border crossings between China and Vietnam. All of that goes pretty well with the help of a Vietnamese woman except that there is a lot of tedious bureaucracy, and much lugging of the beast from big buses to open sided little buses between the border points. However I enjoy the incredibly lush tropical scenery and looking at the amazingly tall ...

... took almost 8 hours. I kept telling myself no matter how frustrated I became, to just look at what I was driving through, and this made the drive bearable.
We finally arrived back in Sapa in the late afternoon, and I returned my bike, missing a front piece of it. It was a major fiasco with a pregnant lady who rented it to me. She demanded I pay $30 US. I, of course knew this was complete garbage and told her I ...

... keeping the sun off them. Pale skin means a good job inside, a higher social standing and being desirable to the opposite sex. Now, For those of you that have been to Bangkok and other manic asian cities that are thinking I’m describing any one of them, I can assure you Vietnam takes things to a whole new level. When we were on the bus from the airport the mopeds where everywhere. On both sides of the road regardless of the direction they are travelling in and on the pavement ...

Yes, I know the title is a little obvious, but frankly I don't care....

So after a veeeery tedious entry into Vietnam, we get to HCMC, or Saigon.
The four of us (Chili and Len are here for a few days visiting family...) grab a back street guesthouse for $2 pp. It is basically a home of a Saigon family, but is comfy enough.
We headed over to the night market for some grub and a few cheap beers and did the first of many snake whiskey shots ...

... dorm that costs 30 CNY per person per day. It is important to note that we are sleeping on a box spring though, with a thin pad on it, and a sheet and duvet. So it's quite firm!

I guess that's all for now, I'll try to update more on Beijing soon. Kind of interesting to note that due to the (deadly) protests in western China, the government has blocked a lot of websites like Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, and Youtube. I wasn't even able to access this blog for a while!

... but you just get used to it after a while. Incredible we didn't see any accidents, although they are apparently increasing about 10% every year! Pete headed back to the room, but I kept mucking around with the camera before dropping in for about half an hour to the Jazz bar that was raved about in the guidebook. Sat for a while and saw an awesome trumpet player rip it up. Nice to hear some live jazz. We got an early night, for tomorrow was an adventure ahead of us - Halong Bay by ourselves.

... making their living the best way they can. We passed 2 children on the mountain road leading their buffalo to pasture, they must have only been 6 or 7. They thought it was hilarious that when I stopped to photograph them I was scared of their animals. We passed a group of people, mostly women and children, on the same mountain and they seemed to be selling sugar cane. Except, the man had a cat with a lead around it's neck. I had to ...

... ready for a whirlwind of fresh experience. Out on the streets in the daylight, first thing that strikes me is "I'm back in India again", I am reminded of my time there for the first time since leaving. The traffic is manic and unrelenting, it is a stream of accidents waiting to happen, Hanoi must be home to the most dangerous pedestrian crossings on the planet, crossing the road is to take your life in your hands. The traffic doesn't ever let up, all motorbikes as well. I can't ...