Earlier I mentioned that we left our hotel in Hanoi vowing never to return. This was the place where Irish couple had submitted an application for visa extension and paid their cash, only to discover the next day that the application had been 'denied' (read, never left the building). The hotel refused to provide receipts for the purchase however, in their favour, they did return the fee. Irish couple were somewhat fearful of facing time in Vietnam police station due to expired visa.
Unfortunately, having seen a number of musty, small, dark rooms with damp beds in hotels that didn't provide free internet or breakfast, we returned to the hotel to be known hence as 'scam hotel'.
After convincing the scam hotel staff that they should give me a room for the same price as previous, I dutifully lugged my bags up four flights of stairs and opened the door to my room to discover a collection of someone else's luggage. They had given me someone else's room key. If I were a person of less firm moral character I could have had a field day of theivery, however I headed back downstairs, and a girl from the desk brought me another key - 'We have made mistake!'. My word you have! (reminds me of the place in Hue where we discovered by accident that every room key opened every room in the hotel - how's that for security!).
We deposited our bags in our rooms (one off a hallway with wet carpet being ineffectually blown by a fan as an attempt at drying), and headed out to find some breakfast and bus information. The plan was to travel from Hanoi to Luang Prabang. Scam hotel said they would reserve seats on a VIP bus for 25 to Vientiene or 40 to Luang Prabang, but that they could only book for the following evening (read: they get an extra night's rent out of us). Being thorough backpackers, we decided to shop around. A number of tour agencies said they could get us tickets for that night, and given the Irish couple's rapidly diminishing time in SEAsia, and the crappy weather, we thought that would be a good idea.
We headed back to scam hotel to let them know we would not be staying that night as we were going to book a bus. We were halfway down the street when one of the fellows burst from the front doors calling us back. We returned to scam hotel to hear their price. '$20, on VIP bus overnight to Vientiene', said one fellow, 'Don't go with other company, they will charge you but put you on local bus'. Given their generosity and helpfulness, we booked the ticket (and paid $5 for leaving our bags in the room for half a day).
At 5.30, following a mad rush to find food for dinner and the journey, we were ready to board the bus. At 6.00, we were still waiting at reception. At 6.15 a taxi turned up and seven of us, laden with luggage, were squashed aboard. After a half hour journey, we arrived at a dodgy looking bus parking lot, and boarded the 'VIP' bus. We were quite suitably appalled at its state. The Vietnamese woman directed us to the back of the bus where there was a large gap, the seats had all been removed! We were supposed to sit on the floor.
A couple of Argentine girls climbed aboard and were directed towards the back, but loudly refused. A cross-cultural exchange occured with the girls absolutely and admantly refusing to go to the back of the bus, and the Vietnamese woman yelling at them both. The Argentines won the battle and stayed in their reclining seats.
Throughout the night, more and more people got on the bus, filling the aisle with little plastic
seats and at some point, a man began hitching a hammock up to the railings over our heads. An older Vietnamese man came to sit next to me (in the foreigner section!!) and twitched and fidgeted his way through a few hours. Turns out he was one of the bus drivers. We stopped at a 'restaurant' where I ordered vegetable noodles, only to discover chunks of beef through it. Aaaaarrrghhhh. At 5.00 in the morning we arrived at the border crossing into Laos, and had to wait 2 hours for the border to open. After departing Vietnam and paying for Laos visas (Irish couple got a fine but not arrested, thankfully), we left at about 9.00am, having no breakfast stop and thus rationing our meagre supplies to last the day.
Our journey continued until 4pm, arriving in Vientiene to find just about all the hotels 'full' as indicated by little signs in the windows. We stayed one night and left the next morning aboard a real VIP bus for Luang Prabang. VIP generally means that you have an on board loo, and they give you water and a little cake or pastry snack. We also received a nutritious and tasty lunch along the way. This journey was 9 hours, and progressed through absolutely stunning scenary. The mountains of Laos are beautiful and my faith in buses is restored! Luang Prabang is
gorgeous and I hope to stay here for a good week to ten days, relaxing and enjoying some of the eco-adventure tours in the area.
Unfortunately, having seen a number of musty, small, dark rooms with damp beds in hotels that didn't provide free internet or breakfast, we returned to the hotel to be known hence as 'scam hotel'.
After convincing the scam hotel staff that they should give me a room for the same price as previous, I dutifully lugged my bags up four flights of stairs and opened the door to my room to discover a collection of someone else's luggage. They had given me someone else's room key. If I were a person of less firm moral character I could have had a field day of theivery, however I headed back downstairs, and a girl from the desk brought me another key - 'We have made mistake!'. My word you have! (reminds me of the place in Hue where we discovered by accident that every room key opened every room in the hotel - how's that for security!).
We deposited our bags in our rooms (one off a hallway with wet carpet being ineffectually blown by a fan as an attempt at drying), and headed out to find some breakfast and bus information. The plan was to travel from Hanoi to Luang Prabang. Scam hotel said they would reserve seats on a VIP bus for 25 to Vientiene or 40 to Luang Prabang, but that they could only book for the following evening (read: they get an extra night's rent out of us). Being thorough backpackers, we decided to shop around. A number of tour agencies said they could get us tickets for that night, and given the Irish couple's rapidly diminishing time in SEAsia, and the crappy weather, we thought that would be a good idea.
We headed back to scam hotel to let them know we would not be staying that night as we were going to book a bus. We were halfway down the street when one of the fellows burst from the front doors calling us back. We returned to scam hotel to hear their price. '$20, on VIP bus overnight to Vientiene', said one fellow, 'Don't go with other company, they will charge you but put you on local bus'. Given their generosity and helpfulness, we booked the ticket (and paid $5 for leaving our bags in the room for half a day).
At 5.30, following a mad rush to find food for dinner and the journey, we were ready to board the bus. At 6.00, we were still waiting at reception. At 6.15 a taxi turned up and seven of us, laden with luggage, were squashed aboard. After a half hour journey, we arrived at a dodgy looking bus parking lot, and boarded the 'VIP' bus. We were quite suitably appalled at its state. The Vietnamese woman directed us to the back of the bus where there was a large gap, the seats had all been removed! We were supposed to sit on the floor.
A couple of Argentine girls climbed aboard and were directed towards the back, but loudly refused. A cross-cultural exchange occured with the girls absolutely and admantly refusing to go to the back of the bus, and the Vietnamese woman yelling at them both. The Argentines won the battle and stayed in their reclining seats.
Throughout the night, more and more people got on the bus, filling the aisle with little plastic
seats and at some point, a man began hitching a hammock up to the railings over our heads. An older Vietnamese man came to sit next to me (in the foreigner section!!) and twitched and fidgeted his way through a few hours. Turns out he was one of the bus drivers. We stopped at a 'restaurant' where I ordered vegetable noodles, only to discover chunks of beef through it. Aaaaarrrghhhh. At 5.00 in the morning we arrived at the border crossing into Laos, and had to wait 2 hours for the border to open. After departing Vietnam and paying for Laos visas (Irish couple got a fine but not arrested, thankfully), we left at about 9.00am, having no breakfast stop and thus rationing our meagre supplies to last the day.
Our journey continued until 4pm, arriving in Vientiene to find just about all the hotels 'full' as indicated by little signs in the windows. We stayed one night and left the next morning aboard a real VIP bus for Luang Prabang. VIP generally means that you have an on board loo, and they give you water and a little cake or pastry snack. We also received a nutritious and tasty lunch along the way. This journey was 9 hours, and progressed through absolutely stunning scenary. The mountains of Laos are beautiful and my faith in buses is restored! Luang Prabang is
gorgeous and I hope to stay here for a good week to ten days, relaxing and enjoying some of the eco-adventure tours in the area.
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