Fist Full of Dong

Remember the air conditioned bus (complete with beds! how posh!) to Hanoi we wrote about in our last post? Well, it turned out to be a complete gong show. The set-up of the bus was three rows of bunk beds (people sleeping head-to-toe) that were crazy-narrow, and we couldn't fully recline because our feet went under the head of the person in front of us. There were 36 beds, but over 50 passengers - luckily we got actual beds, but we couldn't get to the bathroom because the aisles were full of sleeping people. Other backpackers left, furious, after they were told they had to sleep on the floor even though they paid $40 like the rest of us. The good news is that the bus was air-conditioned (except for four hours in the middle of the night while we were pulled over at a rest station while our driver slept), we were probably more comfy than we would have been on a regular bus, there was (bad) 1980s karaoke, and we made it through the border and arrived in Hanoi safe and sound (although it the trip took 26 hours in total instead of the promised 16 hours - we even stopped at one point to have the bus washed!).

We had been warned that Vietnam is the most in-your-face country in southeast Asia, and so far it is definitely true. We have to barter for things here we've never had to before, from bottles of water to meals to the price of our guesthouse. This gets tiring. If we're sitting near a street (even eating or drinking) people constantly come up and try and sell us anything and everything: hats, sandals, donuts, purses, etc. Hanoi is also full of scams, from taxis changing the agreed-upon fare at the end of a journey or having "fast" tourist meters, to shoe repair guys who hold your shoes for hostage to dodgy guesthouses demanding extra payment upon check-out. There are countless ways to try and separate tourists from their dong (aka, the Vietnamese currency).

All that aside, Hanoi is a very clean and modern town, at least around the Old Quarter where we stayed and explored. It is full of trees, lakes, better shopping than Bangkok, and our favourite, cheap delicious local beer. With the 40-degree-plus temperatures in Hanoi, meeting up with fellow travelers (and locals) for an afternoon session of street-side 20 cent (!) glasses of microbrewery draught beer is the only way to survive. One night a group of us even found a pub with free (unlimited) bottles of beer from 6pm to 9pm, and then more free beer if we stood on one foot for two minutes.

After exploring Hanoi for a few days, we booked an overnight sleeper train north to Sapa, for some detoxing in the hill station at 1600m. Coming from Hanoi's sweltering heat to Sapa's 20-degree loveliness was heaven. This town is fairly touristy, but rightfully so it is a big holiday destination for Vietnamese people trying to escape the heat. It is built on a hill so the views over the surrounding green valleys are beautiful. We have explored trails around town and are glad we've been working out as we have to ascent eight flights of stairs to reach our hotel room!

We've also been indulging in Vietnamese cuisine, though since it's a touristy town we have to seek out restaurants that offer more than pizzas, pasta, and burgers. Last night we sampled some local plum wine: $2 for a "bottle" which turned out to be a refilled 500 ml Aquafina water bottle. It was extremely potent, but that turned out to be a great conversation starter with a local Vietnamese guy Craig started doing shots (of "wine") with. As adventurous as we are, we decided to take a pass on the BBQ dog paws and puppy hindquarters for sale at the market (there is a suspicious lack of street dogs in this country). We are still undecided on the restaurant down the street, where horse is the only meat on the menu and is accompanied by boiled blood stew!