Tombing - Not Tubing - 13th November 2009

Finally a touch of culture on our travels – Hue up until 1945 was the capital of Vietnam and home to the Emperor’s Palace. We went on a day trip to see the Citadel which was the old city and the emperors palace and then to see the tombs of the dead emperors. There was some stunning architecture and the photos will be up in flickr soon. It ended up with a ‘dragon’ boat ride up the river.

While on the trip I actually met a guy called Alex who worked in the Railway which is the pub at the end of my road – we even knew some of the same people – it is a small world after all!

A: Having decided to move on the next day it was time to confirm the bus ticket before the morning – what a run around that turned out to be! The hotel said our ticket needed to be confirmed by the tour operator and gave me directions to go there. When I went in they said the ticket we had (just a slip of paper – stupido!) wasn’t theirs and to basically go away. I went back to the hotel to try to contact the tour office in Halong Bay or Hanoi and started to check out trains as a last resort. On my way back to the pub (where Liam was all the while!) I met the couple we had followed and they told us to go to this other place they had been to and sort it out there. The woman in the office was not 100% but said she’d check with Hanoi and to come back at 8am in the morning for the proper ticket. When we arrived (with bags and all) there was yet more hassle and it was only when I was able to show them on a map the two offices we’d been to (in both Halong Bay and Hanoi) that they finally gave in and gave us the official ticket. Thank god I’d met that couple the night before or else we would have had to pay twice! LESSON LEARNED: any future tickets if not on official paper should most definitely be accompanied by a business card to contact the place of purchase!

Hue - 12th November 2009

Arrived in Hue early in the morning and we hitched a ride with the couple who were on our bus who had booked a room and had a free transfer, we ended up with a lovely room. Walked around Hue for the day but it was far too hot for us so we ended back at the room dripping with sweat and completely knackered. Nice town but you get hassled an awful lot the bicycle tuk tuk drivers do not take no for an answer and cycle slowly beside you talking to you trying to get you to take a ride – at one stage we had a bicycle tuk tuk following us and a guy on a motorbike following us up the road trying to pick us up. Had a lovely meal that night and went to bed early.

Return to Hanoi - 11th November 2009

With a Hangover after the night before we awoke on the boat to a SCORCHING day – just our luck as we had a 4 hour bus ride back to Hanoi and then a 12 hour bus ride to Hue. We got back to Hanoi, a place I did not want to return to and went straight to an Irish pub for something to eat before the second bus – met an Irish lad who had been in Hanoi for four years (just to highlight the danger of Hanoi roads and why I nearly had several heart attacks over Aileen crossing the road - he had been in 17 motor bike accidents since being there!), met a nice guy from Ballincollig who had just arrived and then ran into 3 people we spent a couple of days tubing with – so in the end we did not want to leave Hanoi!

But the bus was booked and we headed off – the sleeper bus does exactly what it says on the tin – and is the best way to travel – everyone has their own bed and the 12 hours just flew by. Met another lovely couple and played cards to wind down the some of the time. We tried to bring on some beers for the journey – but the driver confiscated them - I even tried to bribe him but to no avail - but he was fine with us after and he did let us take them off the bus and drink them at the first stop - and continued to laugh at me at every stop thereafter as my hangover grew.

Halong Bay - 10th & 11th November 2009

Halong bay was absolutely gorgeous - a really lovely place where we went to a cave first and then Kayaking. Cave was quite impressive - the guide was picking out shapes of the stalagmites and stalactites (10 bonus points if you can tell me which is the one which hangs down and which is the one on the floor) at first it was dragons and tigers but by the end he was clutching at straws and naming shapes of the shadows that were clearly not similar to the shape he was saying – but hilarious to us. The pics on Flickr do not quite capture the scenery, which include a floating village, but it was a really lovely day and a nice boat trip. Got a lovely bunch of people on the boat and had good fun relaxing during the day - after dinner and a few beers the guides brought out the Karaoke machine – BIG MISTAKE – as we were fairly sober at the start we did not join in but let the French contingent take up the Karaoke reins (they did this sober – which was a bit odd to me!). After a game of cards in which the loser had to sing the madness began, two Canadian sisters lost first and massacred a Bon Jovi tune. Then another girl lost and went up, but by this stage we were getting drunk and so we took to the stage – I chose “the wheels on the bus go round and round” and it went down a storm! (There is some video evidence but I will try to destroy this when Aileen is asleep so it never makes the light of day) After this everyone got involved and Aileen went down a storm with “Quando, Quand, Quando” - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAhIvzD4xGU ) It descended a bit after this and led to us driving the rest of the boat to the top deck. The crew had to turn it off shortly after as I think we wrecked their heads but to be fair – I thought our version of “can’t touch this” – by MC Hammer was exceptional.

2 months in, the count so far.......

4 countries down

100’s of friends made (because of tubing)

Not much book reading (because of tubing)

1 trip to hospital (because of tubing)

GOOD MORNING VIETNAM.......

Hi sorry – couldn’t resist it! Aileen has handed the blog torch over to me for a while and so I have started as I mean to go on. Aileen will of course be making cameo’s when I am Drunk / hungover - so you’ll probably see as much of her as there is of me. If you feel I’m not doing Aileen's effort justice you can use your voting buttons on the comments page. Please leave comments as the facebook in Vietnam is not fully working and it is nice to hear from you all.

THE STRAPS ARE OUT!!! Halong Bay - 8th November 2009

After exactly 2 months of our trip Aileen has finally embraced her backpacker status!! We had booked a bus to Halong Bay with 8am pick up from the hotel but as we were on an alleyway off a road wrought with construction we knew the bus would never be picking up from outside the door. There was nothing for it but to get the straps out and get on with it! I had a dry run in the bedroom the night before and Liam was so proud of me jaunting off down the road after our guide – which was about a 10 minute walk so lucky we’ve the best and most comfortable bags in the world- THANKS GUYS!!

Our bus ticket is a single to halong bay but we’ve joined a tour group who have booked on a boat trip staying one night on board then back to Hanoi. We kind of thought we wouldn’t want to go back to Hanoi so will suss out tomorrow about doing a day trip perhaps….

Hanoi - 7th November 2009

We decided to give the place a go for one day and knew there was a lake close by so thought that’s give some respite to the narrow manic streets we were living on. But this being Hanoi even the serene part has not got much spare space and is busy and noisy! That night our evening stroll resulted in Liam nearly having heart failure a number of times afraid of me getting knocked down. Seeing really is believing – again we’d heard the stories but at night time in the centre on a Friday night you really get a taste for the madness. Most people say you just need to stroll across the roads as the many bikes will go around you but at nighttime I don’t think these rules apply so strictly!! Exhausted after all the effort we’re glad to be leaving early the next morning.

Hanoi (Vietnam) - 6th November 2009

06/11/2009 – On the last day of our Laos visa it’s time to leave so next stop Vietnam!! We knew better than to even contemplate the 25 hour bus ride so we got some pretty cheap flights from Luang Prabang airport to Hanoi on – wait for it – our favourite airline:LAO AIRLINES!!!! I must say that this was far less painful a trip than from Thailand to Laos; in part because we were not suffering but also because the plane was far bigger and looked more reliable!! Even the in flight snack was more than edible – it was nice, and I got TWO cups of tea.

We’d heard many tales of scams in Hanoi where taxi drivers try to take you to their own hotel where they get commission so we were hoping to be prepared for it. We booked a hotel in advance which supposedly had free airport pick up but it appeared my request didn’t get through/was ignored. We had to take an airport taxi which looked pretty legit and gave him explicit instructions for the hotel address. When we got to the city he still brought us to his buddy who got in the car, waving a business card of the hotel we were booked into and telling some story about how the hotel was now full (a couple had apparently cancelled a trip and were staying an extra night so therefore our room was taken) so he was going to take us to another hotel run by the same people with the same everything. It took a while but our constant questions eventually wore him down and when we started insisting we wanted to go to the booked hotel to make sure our card wouldn’t be charged he gave up. Talk about hard work! We ventured out that night for something to eat and even though we didn’t get that far it was a mission – the paths are too narrow and over cluttered to walk on and the minute you step onto the road you’re really taking your life into your own hands!!

Luang Prabang - 2nd - 5th November 2009

These next few days Liam’s feeling poorly again (another infection) so doesn’t actually see much of this fabulous place. I on the other hand relish the long walks down by the rivers (the Nam Than meets the Mekong) and seeing the saffron robes of monks a plenty everywhere you go. The night market is fab, the streets and alleyways idyllic and the food is lovely! I even made the trek up to the highest point (a sacred hill in the middle) so you can see some great pictures of the views from above.

Vang Vieng - 1st November 2009

Aileen wakes at 7am and not feeling so bad proceeds to sort out our exit outa here!! Bus booked to Luang Prabang for the following morning means that our time in this place has finally come to and end. Even a trip to the pool is pointless as it’s gotten so busy we barely get a seat in by the bar!!

Vang Vieng - 31st October 2009

HALLOWE’EN and what better day to have as your last day tubing?! The creativity with costumes is something else – check out the pics. That evening I have the BEST grilled fish EVER! I’m not sure if it’s the fact that they basted it in about two inches of salt but the flavour was superb and the texture just lush…..yum yum

Vang Vieng - 30th October 2009

Day off – I go to the pool while liam dies. When I come back in the evening things haven’t improved so I go out for a takeaway cos I’m the best!

Vang Vieng - 29th October 2009

One day tubing; realization dawns that this has to end some time!! We swam across the river (with Liam holding my handbag above water and some friends taking the camera in their dry water bag) and decided to walk back from there. Without shoes and with a bit of a forest ahead of us we thought our feet would get destroyed. Thankfully there was a pile of discarded flipfops of varying shapes and sizes just at the entrance so we took our pick – gross!! There was some agro at the bridge (the locals were saying it was too late to cross back – we’d stopped at a couple of bars on the way!) which me and liam stayed well clear of. While the foreigners were arguing and refusing to pay a pittance to have it opened we found a FREE boat just a short distance downriver. Despite roaring up at the people on the bridge to follow they ignored us so we got across pretty much hassle free. And even though he protested we insisted our ferryman take a token for his efforts. It was a pity that so much bother was caused over such a meaningless thing. Yes, we were being taken advantage of as we were a big group of foreigners with little or no other options but really in the grand scheme of things they were asking for less than 1 GBP so principles or no principles pay the man and be on your way.

Vang Vieng - 28th October 2009

A well deserved day off and I feel awful; liam on the other hand feels fine so turns a day by the pool into a party! It’s also dad’s b-day and when I ring I get the added bonus of talking to Sheila and all the kids!! Some phonecall – I’m sure it was hilarious on the other end with the queues!! I’ve excluded alcohol from my diet today….liam hasn’t!! He plays ‘beer pong’ which is pretty funny but goes on all night!! I’m just thankful that bars shut around midnight here so I can go home to bed (boring!).

Vang Vieng - 26th & 27th October 2009

Back on the wagon again with two more days tubing. Decided to stay dry these days so brought a handbag and camera and stayed on one side of the river and walked down. So you can finally see some snaps/videos of this madness….and I mean madness! No matter how many people I knew who had been here before and told me how crazy it was words really don’t describe it. Even though Thailand is great craic and the full moon party is mad it’s all quite spread out and there’s so much going on it can be over whelming for just one night. Here there are a handful of bars in quick succession that you can quite easily see so you know which one is busiest and you meet people that are all having the best time! It’s becoming clear to me now why so many people you meet have gotten jobs here and are staying for the long haul.

Vang Vieng - 19th - 25th October 2009

I really love this place. Where else can you have the best of both worlds?? Most places are either party hearty (where you sacrifice peace and tranquility) or relaxing and beautiful (without a pub for miles!) but here you can pick and choose as you see fit. Well for this whole week we chose the latter option unfortunately mostly because of Liam’s pretty bad injury. He went to the hospital after a couple of days of the cut getting more infected and they cleaned it out but it meant a course of antibiotics and not much movement for a few days. It did mean that aileen finally skyped and got in touch with people – it truly is amazing to be able to get in touch with (and SEE!!) loved ones so easily.