We took the Sinh sleeper bus to Hue (although we were travelling in the day it was the only one available), it was surprisingly comfortable for our 4 1/2 hr trip. Not sure what it'd be like on an overnight trip though, you can't lay flat. We've avoided overnight sleeper buses so far for the safety aspect; tired drivers, crazy drivers, tired crazy drivers, bad roads.
Got dropped in the backpacker area, that's the good thing about Sinh Tourist Buses, they are the most professional company we've come across, very efficient and organised, they have well placed offices in the main backpacker areas in cities and towns, so you always get picked up and dropped off in a great spot to start looking for accommodation. Be careful if you try to book with them in Hanoi though as there are at least 20 copycat businesses, all proffessing to be the original!
Found a little hotel called Nino, which was fab, one of the nicest hotels we've stayed in. The staff were fantastic, so friendly.
Hue has an old citadel which we had a wander around, although our time here was a bit of a write off as Matt didn't feel too good. Luckily we had a nice room to chill out in. There was also a great little resturant nearby that was run by a lovely vietnamese lady and did Italian food. When we were leaving she rushed out to us to say good bye, gave us some travel tips on Vietnam and told Matt his hair looked lovely! He said thank you, I just washed it, just like being in a shampoo commercial!
From Hue we took a sleeper train to Hanoi, 725000VND, about £22, soft sleeper bed.
We got the 21.30 that arrives 12.30 next day, 15hrs! We tried to get an earlier one which was 5 hours faster but it was full.
The soft sleeper carriages have 4 beds to cabin, 2 lower bunks which are wider and two narrower top bunks which look flipping awkward to get up to, they don't even have ladders. They do not compare favourably with the Thai sleeper train we took. In Vietnam you sleep sideways and the 'soft' mattresses are rock hard! It was hilarious, the train was so wobbly that you were constantly sliding back and forth at least an inch with your face squashing into the pillow. Matt didn't sleep very well because his belly was wobbling too much! So noisy too, even with ear plugs in. Nightmare. We shared our cabin with a 60 year old Vietnamese lady who nimbly clambered into the top bunk. In the morning, (we were up at 6am) she claimed to have slept all night! Unbelievable.
She could speak a little English and shared her breakfast of yoghurt and oranges with me.
And when bagpuss goes to sleep........
Our cabin mate whose been watching the youngsters with their 'V' signs in every photograph and got it a little wrong. Or has she?!
A giant poster by the rail track
Arrived in Hanoi around 12.30pm, walked towards the old quarter in desperate need of a coffee, it took a while but it's much cooler here so it wasn't too bad. Stopped at a little cafe on the way.
I went to use their toilet. Well. I thought I was on candid camera. The girl showed me into a room, I looked around confused thinking 'where is the toilet?' The toilet was just a small drain hole in the floor. Good job I only wanted a wee! Yes, I did pee on the floor!
Sometimes you get squat toilets. They don't have loo roll. Or a flush. All that's in the room is a tap over a bucket of water and a ladle. Carrying loo roll is a must.
Found a dive of a room for $10 (£6.70!). It wasn't pretty but it was in a cool street in the middle of the hustle and bustle of the old quarter, near the lake.
A tiny cafe in the alley our cheap room was in, best smoothie ever..Banana and avocado. Yum.
Mmmmmmm.....I'm dreaming I'm bathing in coffee
As our room was so cheap we splurged on a nice breakfast the next morning at 'Zenith' cafe. It's under a yoga studio, up a little alley. Big cushions to laze, great coffee and muesli with yoghurt and fruit.
Spent the next couple of days walking around the old quarter taking in the sights, found a great little cafe opposite St Joseph's Church called Cong. Tried a yoghurt coffee, not sure about the combination, 1st sip I thought wow this is good, but it does leave a strange after taste.
Cafe Cong
View looking out
St Joseph's
Walked up to Ho Chi Minh Mauseleum but it was shut, we went into the museum though...
Hi, Ho
The old prison built by the french...the 'Hanoi Hilton'
Guillotine
Cells
The military History Museum...
B52 wreckage
Pet......or dinner?
It was a pet, don't worry.
Here are a bunch of giggly girls doing the 'V's who gathered around when we bought some conditioner. They wanted Matt to take a photo of them. You don't get that kind of attention in Boots.
Matt wishes it was this easy in UK to get your bike seat recovered!
Fancy a house less than 2ft from the railway?
Pigs trotter? The smell of trotters over charcoal is not pleasant I can tell you!
Tho Chit (dog) they eat 5 million dogs a year in Vietnam
Spirals of crisps are nicer
Up high watching the traffic...
We also went to the water puppet theatre. The puppeteers are waist high in water behind a screen, operating puppets on poles. There is live band and singers to help tell the story. Odd, but fun. Couldn't understand a lot of the story though!
Front row seats at the water puppet theatre
Ha Long Bay here we come!
No comments:
Post a Comment