Time has started to go by much faster now! I'll be back before I know it so trying to soak up every last second. This is a mammoth chapter I am afraid...here goes
So we had a few days together in Hanoi before Alex jetted back to the UK for a week. One of my loveliest friends from uni, Sarah came out to Hanoi by chance around that time so it was really really nice to spend some time with her as she lives in Germany and so we hadn't seen each other for around 18 months. And also one of her friends Tom lives and works in Hanoi so it was a lot of fun exploring with him and his girlfriend, Shandy.
I stayed in a fantastic backpacker hostel and met loads of fun people - a girl and 2 guys from Scotland on their way to live in Australia for a while, another Londoner called Buffy and hooked up with an Aussie couple we originally met in Siem Reap! It's always amazing to me that you meet the same people in a completely different part of Asia but it seems to be pretty common. Needless to say staying round the corner from the best late night lockins and hundreds of restaurants and spending lots of time catching up/getting to know people meant I ate and drank considerably more than previous destinations in Asia. In Hanoi the bars are supposed to close at 11pm so all the bars stay open with their shutters down and doormen outside - means you have to kind of know where to go but it's enormous fun. Also ate lots of western food as they have real cheese there!!!!!!!! So my asian weight loss has slowed slightly ;-)
Hanoi itself was fascinating but cold and wet. 14 degrees average when I was there and rain most days. Somehow it managed to feel cold and humid all at once. No real tourist sites up there and most people stayed for one night on their way to Sapa for hiking or Halong Bay. We didn't go to either as so many people found it too cold/misty to see anything. I spent most of my time wandering the streets without looking at my map and watching everyone and looking at everything. Cafe stalls there are great, tiny little plastic stools about 6 inches high if you are lucky selling hot or iced coffee and iced tea. As I tend to avoid caffeine I explored me other options and decided that natural yoghurt on ice with cocoa powder mixed in a bit or with honey was yum. In the old quarter the roads are really small and crowded and you can be too busy avoiding getting hit by taxis or motorbikes to see the buildings but they are skinny and go back miles. Was always worth finding a bar or restaurant with a balcony so you could watch from safety! Got a tour of the Chinese Medicine shops from Tom's girlfriend...longevity mushrooms make you live longer and eating seahorses helps skin complaints and asthma apparently! Eeek Also lots of familiar remedies like ginger and ginseng.
Once Alex came back we moved on to Hue, travelling by train overnight. There were no ssoft sleepers available so we plumped for hard sleeps and were pretty anxious about what this would entail. Actually it was great fun. 6 people to a cabin with around a foot between each bunk and despite the name had an adequate little mattress pad on it. We shared the cabin with a truly sweet family. Mum worked for an NGO to support people with visual impairment and Dad plays violin in the Vietnamese National Symphony Orchestra. We only stayed one night as we wanted to soak up the delights of Hoi An for as long as possible. Hue was pretty interesting as it is primarily a bustling Vietnamese town. We walked around the ancient citadel and along the river where a man offered us an extra souvenir, his grandson (hehe the vietnamese seem to have a much drier subtler sense of humour than other people we have met, sits well with me). Stayed in another backpacker dorm but unfortunately shared it with a large group of loud 17 year old Essex girls who after 2 drinks were agruing and competing for boys attention. Oh dear...me thinks I am starting to feel old. Little sleep had by either of us!
From there we travelled by train and taxi to Hoi An, a very touristy but charming place by the sea. The train journey was spectacular with green mountains on one side and the sea on the other. They have round little boats there which are really cute. Hoi An just grabs you, so many old buildings on a gentle hill down to the river. On one night all electric light was switched off so people used candles and lanterns. Locals sold candles for people to float down the river and it was beautiful. A choir competition was also being held there so occasionally you would stumble across a choir in the street. Had amazing food at a little stall with great little chewy noodles and crispy pork. Mmmmmmmm can still taste it! One day we hired bikes and cycled to the local beach which was virtually deserted. So nice to lie on the sand without being hassled by people trying to do pedicures or threading etc.
Then we got the train down to a beach town called Mui Ne. Incredibly windy place known for kite surfing. Basically lazed around for a couple of days in our luxury digs and ate plenty of squid with lemongrass and chilli. Sadly place slightly overun with fat sleazy russian men so wouldn't go back as sure there are far nicer beaches in Nam.
We took a bus back to Ho Chi Minh City which was hilarious as we had booked a sitting bus only for it not to arrive so we ended up laying at the back of a sleeper bus in a tiny space with a 48 year old copper who had been motorbiking around the country and had many stories to tell. When we drive into HCMC a ginormous downpour occured so that all the roads were flooded. People were huddling under bridges. Needless to say we had to wade through around 20cm of water with our backpacks and down a flooded alleyway where I nearly lost my flipflops. Thank goodness we had accomodation booked with same family who got us warm and dry.
Ate at our favourite noodle soup place only to find price had doubled in 3 weeks! Hah tourist inflation in Vietnam is a truly fascinating study. Fortunately it was still around 2 dollars for a meal so not a costly exercise. Felt really sad to leave Vietnam but excited to be going to a new country........
