Isnt it funny how we all can experience the same thing and have completely different perceptions of that experience? We met lots of people who really enjoyed Hue - mostly because it was chilled out. In my opinion it was really really boring, the people were grumpy, and there was nothing to see.
So.... we decided we wouldnt head any further north into Vietnam and instead we would turn West and head into Laos. And this decision we spontaneously decided at 8 pm at night. Damn! This created all sorts of problems for us. Notably currency. Laos doesnt take Vietname dollars, and getting money out of banks in Laos is near impossible unless you are in one of the main centres.
We ended up getting out 1.5 million Dong (Vietnam dollars) and taking it to the border with us. The bus trip was hell. Lauren and I both ended up with Vietnamese solders sitting on our laps. My butt was suspended between two seats with a 300 mm gap in between. So I got two long bruises where I had sat on the hard ridges of the seat. These people are experts at cramming impossible numbers of people, geese, donkeys, and cargo into any space available.
