We landed all safe and well last Tuesday, and I have to say we were both impressed with Lao Airlines. Very nice comfy seats with a sandwich and a glass of coke during the flight. On landing we were able to get our Visas very quickly which we were surprised with considering all the hassle and forms you have to go through to be able to obtain one.
As we exit the airport we asked the lady on the Information desk where we can get the local busses into the town. Her response - 'outside'. (Very helpful we are thinking). Now we choose the local busses as its by far the cheapest way, and in reality doesn't take much longer than a taxi or mini bus. On waiting outside we were ushered onto a mini bus which is a service ran by Vietnam Airlines into the city. We had read about this service which costs $2 per person, but drops you off in the south of the city. Seeing that our hotel is in the north of the city, we had opted not to go for this service. We explained to the people organising this that we couldn't get on this bus as it didn't go near the hotel in which we are booked. We show him on the map and he kindly explained that for $2 he can drop us off near the hotel and we would have then just a little walk. We both thought this was a good idea and got on. We waited about 30 minutes until the bus was full and then the gentleman came round to collect the money. Making sure that it will drop us off where we want to go we show him the map again to confirm that the bus will in fact go this way. He shakes his head and points to the bus station at the south of the city. (Exactly the reason we weren't getting this bus in the first place). Magically he said he would be able to take us, but it would now cost 300,000 VND (£9) each on top of the $2 we would need to pay. Now I cant claim to be an expert but from the short time we have been in Asia, i'm pretty sure you can buy half of Laos for £9. Pure extortion and money that would be going into his pocket. I promptly told him we were very grateful that he had wasted our time and also explained that we would now be getting off the bus.
So we had now been in Vietnam for close on 90 minutes and we are still at the airport. Finally, after using our own heads we find the local busses and a very kind man helps us onto the bus and tells the conductor where we need to go. The bus was fantastic and we got chatting to some 14 year old school girls who were fascinated by us and just wanted to talk to us, so they could practice their English. We were on our way.....
Only to be dropped off at what can only be described as the biggest S**T HOLE in Vietnam.
We took one look at the mould on the walls, ceiling and floors, the loose electrical live wires and the stains on the bedding, dropped our bags and headed out the door to find another hotel. I'm pleased to inform you that a polite but firm letter was written to hoselworld.com and a full refund has now been received.
We successfully found a lovely 3 star hotel costing £12 a night which felt like a 5 star after the dump we had previously been booked into. All was going very well and we settled in nicely. However at 6.50am the loudest banging and drilling started happening. I went down to reception to explain that they had woken us up. The gentleman from reception called the builders and told them to stop. Which they did for all of ten minutes. The drilling was so loud that we had to shout to each other just to be heard. At breakfast (which i have to say was very nice) we were told that we could move rooms. While viewing the room, the drilling and banging was still very loud so we decided to stay in our original room and save the hassle of moving all our items. When we told the lady on reception that we would stay in our room, she said that we couldn't. The room they had promised us for three nights had now been double booked. We were truly fed up and after the last hotel didn't really want to move but felt that we had no option. We were now in our third hotel in less than 24 hours. I'm pleased to say that it was third time lucky and we had a fantastic rest of our stay.
We have found that the Vietnamese people in Hanoi come across as being rather rude compared to friendliness of the Thai's. This is quite frankly the craziest city we have ever been to. There are 6 million people living here with 4.5 million scooters driving on the roads / pavements. Crossing the road involves you taking your life in your own hands. The first time we went to cross a road we were truly English as waited for a gap in the traffic (About half an hour). A red light means nothing here and we have now decided to follow the locals and just walk into the road at a slow speed. This allows the bikes to see you and move to avoid hitting you.
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| Would you drive your Porsche through this? |
We have visited Hanoi Prison which is also know as "Hanoi Hilton", given it nickname by the America POW's during the Vietnam War. It was truly educational and some of the exhibits really bought home the devastation that was caused to the nation during this period. The temple of literature was the first university in Vietnam and although not gaining much information from the visit, it was nice to see the grounds and old buildings.
Today we have just got back from a fantastic three day trip to Halong Bay. This trip has reasserted all faith that we had in Vietnam prior to our arrival that Hanoi may have destroyed. We will be posting about this with in the next couple of days.
Love
Amz and Jonny x
Oh wow - what a week you have had (and what a funny post - I got some very odd looks as I was laughing on the train)!! I am so pleased that Halong Bay is serving as an antidote to Hanoi and that you have managed to survive the local traffic!
ReplyDeleteDo you think the prison is really called the Hanoi Hilton because people had previously stayed at your first hotel...?
Anna xx