Hanoi

A proper bus this time for our final journey on our bargain $22 Open bus ticket through Vietnam…..but the cheap price was fully reflected in the standard of comfort, and the journey turned out as badly as expected getting no more than 2-3hrs of restless, uncomfortable sleep! To make matters worse we were not dropped off in the centre as expected but at some off the map bus station – we had to resign ourselves to getting an overpriced taxi into town, but at least we grabbed 2 English girls to share the cost with! Yet more problems ahead, everyone of the Lonely Planets choice of budget guesthouses was charging over $10 a night (way over our $5 budget!)….hours later, after slogging my now 16kg backpack (plus 4kg day bag) in and out of every place in town, we hit gold! Well at least we managed to get the best value for our $10 – the best room of our travels so far, this hotel would be at least 3 stars back home, all newly renovated with plush interior, free internet and a complete satellite TV package! Once settled into our room and Chris fully up to date on the latest football results (making the most of our $10) we set about exploring Hanoi. With three whole days in the city our priority was still shopping (even though we had a 15kg weight limit on our flight out of Hanoi), there were plenty of little boutique style souvenir shops to keep our eyes roaming. Hanoi is a really pretty city, with a stunning lake in the centre and lots of old windy lanes to explore….if only it wasn’t for the traffic, after a while the constant sound of car horns and dodging the motorbikes weaving their way down the pavements really starts to grind you down! We often found refuge back in our lovely hotel room to get away from the heat and the traffic – oh, and to let our stomachs digest the enormous feed from the all you can eat pasta & salad bar …. I know we shouldn’t be eating Western food when in Vietnam but it was such good value (one meal at 11.30am would last us all day!). Other than a brief stroll past Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum (it was closed when we went) we really didn’t see and do much else in Hanoi, but we had a very pleasant time chilling out before our next big challenge…..packing our bags for our flight back to Bangkok! We were now carrying 1.5kg worth of wooden Buddha, a 4kg stone chess set and a few more items of clothing!!!! We came in just perfect on the weight limit 30kg of checked in luggage, two 7kg pieces of carry-on, not to mention wearing all our heaviest clothing (oh yes, jeans and jumper in 35 degree heat – fantastic!)…..but we made it!

Lake in the centre of Hanoi, a bit of peace and quiet away from the motorbike horns!

The last Bia Hoi....ever!

Ho Chi Minh's Massoleum....