I know we've complained about bus journeys before but this one took the biscuit! Admittedly it was famous for being a horrific, 24 hour slog but it was definitely worse for us as you'll discover!...
We got dropped off at the bus station in Vientiane at about 5pm ready for the bus to Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam. As usual, they packed us in like sardines and then thought it would be a good idea to fill the aisles with rice sacks, bundles of blankets and straw mat rolls so we were well and truly wedged in for the duration (although we weren't the worst off, a German traveller ended up with the best seat on the bus - sleeping on the floor in the aisle). We were ok though but at about 12 midnight the bus pulled over at a restaurant (the Laos equivalent of a moto - a big room which served yucky coffee). The 2 drivers dissapeared for a good nights sleep and the rest of us were stuck on the bus! It was so stuffy and someone started eating a garlic sausage so strong that we could taste it. We went out for some fresh air but once we were out we couldn't get back on again as there were two many sleeping bodies and rice sacks in the aisles. We hung about outside in the dark until about 5am when people started stirring again. Back on the bus it was an hour's drive to the border.
We made our way to passport control. "Have you got my passport?" Gary asked. "No" we always kept our own passport on us. Although our brains screamed into panic mode it was one of those situations that you just can't believe is true and that if you stay calm and just look through your bags one more time, it'll turn up. But not in this case. We resigned ourselves to the fact that we'd have to go all the way back to Vientiane to the last place we had seen it which was at our guesthouse. We were very downhearted and couldn't believe our luck - we thought we were on our way! And getting back to Vientiane wasn't easy! First we caught a tuk tuk to the nearest village (Lak Sao) which took about an hour. Feeling so glum, we didn't even look up to notice the stunning scenery around us. We had heard that a new passport in Laos takes 3 weeks, not to mention the expenses, lost time etc. In Lak Sao the bus station didn't look promising, more of a shak. No one there spoke any English but through pointing, other sign language and place names we managed to establish that we had missed the only bus to Vientiane. We asked about getting to Paksan (the next major town) however they kept pointing to a random truck shouting a name we'd never even heard of. We had nothing to lose and they seemed pretty sure so we hopped on and hoped it would turn out alright.
After about 2 hours on the road to nowhere, passing through random dusty villages, the truck suddenly pulled over and the driver jumped out, shouting to us “Viantiane! Viantiane!” and pointing to bus behind us. It was flagged over and Gary went to sort out a lift while I got our bags off the the roof. We had flagged down the bus going the opposite direction (from Hanoi to Vientiane) and had a lift all the way into the city! We were so lucky as we thought we’d have to stay overnight somewhere.
Back in Vientiane we arrived at the guesthouse. “I stay here yesterday, leave my passport in the room” Our hearts sunk, they hadn’t found it and had cleaned the room and everything. Still, we asked if we could have a look and there was no one staying in the room (lucky, again). Deena searched under the bed, under the dresser behind the table, no luck. But then she noticed a piece of paper under the side table - Gary’s departure papers! And then there it was down the back of the table! What a relief! We asked at reception if there was any way we could get on the next bus to Hanoi (this was brave as it was another 24 hour journey to begin again and we’d already been going about 22 hours! But we just wanted to get on with it). We freshened up, had some lunch and then, before we knew it were back at the bus station a day later with an enormous sense of dejavu! We were the know-it-alls and had all the info about the bus journey for the other travellers.Once again, the bus pulled over for 'sleep-time' and this time we were so tired that we both got a little bit of a nap. And although the border was a complete nightmare (we were treated as lowest class and ignored for a couple of hours) we were please to be through into Vietnam. We still had a long journey to Hanoi though, about 10 hours!
Around 8pm we arrived in Hanoi. A lady boarded the bus "Hello, my name is Tilly" She welcomed us and explained that she'd look after us as the bus stop was far away from the city. she arranged us a taxi and offered to show us all her hotel, which we gladly accepted, it being so late at night and having travelled for around 50 hours! Her hotel WAS beautiful but when we said we needed it for a week she refused, then Gary got mad and then it wasn't on offer any more. So we were left on the crazy streets of Hanoi at 9pm with no hotel!
And the pattern continued for our stay, we had 3 hotels in 3 nights. Our first hotel had a hole in the floor and you could see into someone's kitchen, in the second one the people nearly ran Gary over with a motorbike 'as a joke' and the third was ok but very small but by then we were leaving. So much for staying a week in Hanoi!
We mostly just wandered around the old quarter in search of cheap food (which we couldn't really find). We're getting used to the Vietnamese coffee that gets made in a coffee maker placed on top of your glass (Gary always asks for some hot water to add to it as it's as strong as turkish coffee). Hanoi is very very busy and there are no crossings, so you just have to start walking accross the street and the motorbikes drive around you! Every road looks the same, it's like a warren.
The last night in Hanoi was the best. We bumped into a group from the bus, filling them in on the end of the passport story. They invited us out to dinner that night at the market. It was great! We had a hot pot where they set up a gas burner on your table with soup and veges and spices in it to which you add whetever you like. They brought a huge! plate of seafood, assorted veges, a variety of noodles - it just kept coming and coming. It was lots of fun, we shared a bottle of vodka and the Vietnamese at the next table were drinking with us. After dinner we didn't want the night to end and made our way to the swankiest spot in town 'New Century Club'. The music was terrible (pounding dance stuff) but it was interesting watching the locals mingling, no different from anywhere in the world!
