Ok, so we get in this minor bus accident...
(Three nights earlier)...
Immediately after arriving in Hanoi (Vietman), we can't help but wonder if staying in Laos would've been better for a number of reasons.
Top 5 reasons
1. It was cold - When you get off the plane and people are dressed in a toque, scarf, jacket, hoodie, or a combination of all of the above and looking at your drying skin underneath your short sleeve Beer lao t-shirt and flip flops you can't help but wonder if the one hour flight was worth it. I think my tan might be on the next flight back to Luang Prabang.
2. Hanoi is crazy - Just driving into the city alone was enough to give me my 'I almost died story'. The road rule is generally, that there is no rule - driver, motorbike rider, cyclist, or pedestrian. Crossing the street alone is an extreme sport in it's own right. This city is a 180 degree change compared to any of the places we stayed in while touring Laos. But we catch on quick.
3. Price - We were spoiled up to now with how much we are paying for things. Although compared to home, no matter where we go in SE Asia, things will be much cheaper (I'll include the Kiev Travel Price Index later) but we feel it paying for rooms priced in USD.
4. Stress - Vietnam higher, Laos lower.
5. Safety - So far things have been pretty harmless moving around. But the bus trip from Hanoi to Hue was absolutely nuts. We couldn't secure a spot on the night train down the coast so we had to take the GH's offer of using a sleeper bus (photos to follow), basically a bus filled with metal bunk beds and seatbelts. The whole thing smelled like feet (probably my fault). We thought things would be safe in here once we escaped the cities road mayhem, but only ten minutes out of downtown into the 12 hour ride, our bus somehow keeps his speed approaching a red light and rear ends the taxi in front of him. Not sure if our driver was distracted by the traffic or the crazy music blaring from the speakers (come on dude, it's a sleeper bus!) No one was hurt in either vehicle thank goodness.
Oh yeah...it was raining too.
