Vietnam

Beeeep, beeep,beep, beeeep, beep, beeeeeeeeep!

bus from DBP 1

Anoying is'nt it? thats Hanoi for you...For those of you who have been over this way you are probably more than aware of the constant cacophony of noise coming of the street as everything from cars, scooters, bikes, trikes and corn carts beep to let everyone know that they are coming through, already passed by, about to collide with vehicle or pedestrian or just because they feel the need to add to the din.

Anyway, dont want to sound like we are complaining. Life is great, Halong Bay beautiful and the beer hoi $2000vnd (15c).

We made it to Hanoi relatively unscathed after 12h on the local bus from Dien Bien, not nearly as bad as the 16hr that was suggested at one point. However the bus ride does deserve some elaboration....We made it to the bus station early (4.30am) and found ourselves in a scrum of local drivers competing to get us on their bus. We went with the most alert looking driver and with the bus only 3/4 full we were speeding out from the station and leaving Dien Bien Phu. Was looking pretty good at this stage, plenty of room to spread out anbd good seats down near the front. We could'nt quite work out the reason for the hurry though. Before long it was very clear.....the first bus from the station gets to pick up all the people waiting on the streets further out. Unbelievable it became a race, something like super mario cart (computer game, for all the oldies), there was one other bus in close persuite and we were litterally racing down streets and overtaking each other at any opportunity. A stop to pick somebody up is misleading, really it just involved the bus slowing down to the point at which the door could be swung open and someboddy pulled aboard before accelerating onwards without ever really stopping. Highly amusing and somewhat exhillerating in pre dawn light. Slightly less amusing when we pulled the 39th person aboard out 22 seater mini bus... But wait there's more... The eratic driving was obviously having an effect on the local passengers and within 30min small plastic bags were being passed around. Curious, Cath and I wondered what we were missing out on. Turns out that they were all motion sick!! Once they filled their little bags they would be tossed out the windows. At this point the whole experience was seeming pretty sureal to Cath and I and we just sat there feeling pretty bemused but surprisingly reasonably ok about the whole thing. The rest of the bus ride turned out to be alright, and when not dodging bags flying out the windows, the view was at times spectacular.

bus from DBP 2

We got into Hanoi and decided that we were entitled to a treat. We checked ourselves into the Veit Ahn Hotel (3 stars) which turned out to be a nice little holiday from our holiday. For $33 usd we had a nice room with internet in the room, modern bathroom and satelite tv. Down stairs they even had somebody who opened the door for us....what a treat! The old quater of Hanoi is seething with activity, bars, restaurants, shops, tourists and of corse touts. We spent a day having a walk around and just taking it pretty easy. Day 2 was all about the sights and we set of by bike (with the seaton the front.....forgotten what they are called??) to the Mausoleum of Ho Chi Mihn, followed by the Ho Chi Mihn museum, his house etc. Was all very interesting and amazing to see the amount of people filing through to see 'uncle Ho ' as he is affectionately known over here. Riding on the rick shaw thing was quite the experience, with oncoming traffic absolutely no obstacle for our agreeable and enthusiastic driver. Sitting up front however really was quite scary as we threaded through traffic, between trucks and amongst what felt like thousands of motor bikes. Ok for him, he probably couldnt see past Cath and I. The next day we were off to the Museum of Ethnology, highly recommended by the lonly planet. Hmmm interesting in a kind of good for you kind of way... You know you should be interested, there were all sorts of interesting facts and artifacts from Indochina's diverse cultures, but honestly, we both found it to be a bit on the boring side and the air con was not quite up to scratch. From the museum we managed to get out to the Mongolian Embassy and sort our visas out which will save time down the track.

Cat Ba 2

From Hanoi we left on a 3 day 2 night tour to Halong Bay and Cat Ba Island. Halong bay is amazing, very spectacular limestome islands jutting out of the waters of the bay. The Junk we were on was nice, air cond rooms, a dining room and a top deck with sun lounges. All very nice and relaxing. Jumping off the top deck into the water really was a refreshing treat. I wont say a lot about Halong as I think the pictures will give you a better idea of what it is all about. Day 2 of Halong bay we transfered to a smaller boat and headed for Cat Ba Island , one of only a couple of inhabitted islands. On the way we stopped of at monkey island - no monkeys, very dissapointing. Cat Ba was interesting, very much a weekend get away for Vietnamese as well as a popular spot for tourists. Three beaches on the island all packed with yelling, screaming deliriously excited vietnames and what looked to be chinese tyourists. Once again, check out the photos... We rented a motor bike on day 2 on the island and did some exploring before hitting the beaches in the arvo. I am really getting used to the motor bikes over here and they are an excellent way of getting out and about independently. Today we left Halong and Cat Ba and arrived back in Hanoi. This evening I had a suit fitting, when we arrived in Hanoi we decided that I would get a suit made and sent to Ireland. I must say that it is quite a pleasent experience getting fitted for a suit and then going back for repeat fittings with the tailor. Better than the cheap off the rack numbers back home. Tomorrow we pick up the suit before we leave hanoi, hopefully he will have sorted out the skinny leg issue we were having today (his tailoring, not my legs!). Tomorrow we are on the evening train to Nanning, China. From there we are still undecided, its a long train trip so hopefully we will have time to work something out.

Cat Ba island beach

Cheerio

cat ba sunset

cath and si in rick shaw type thing

cath and si outside mausoleum

cath selling bananas...

halong 1

halong 2

halong 4

Ho Chi Mihn Museum

si on bike

well deserved luxury