Nursing a sore backside, we are currently nestled away in Hanoi’s Old Quater with a million other tourists. Makes quite a change from our previous locale of Sam Neua, in the wilds of Laos where there were a grand total of six foreigners (and that was a busy day apparently).
Having survived a 10 hour night bus (picture a 70’s style school bus – vinyl upright seats – no head or arm rests and a windy road through the clouds at breakneck speed), and had a couple of hours sleep we explored the caves where the Pathet Lao elites sheltered in style while the rest of the country was bombed to pieces. They were quite interesting little spots tucked away in grottos with airtight safety rooms, living quaters, garages, connecting tunnels (power cut while we were there so we crawled through in the pitch black!) and even a giant performance space for inspiring the comrades. Not to forget the Chinese embassy which had its own cave!
We approached our epic bus ride yesterday with much trepidation, – unsure of what connecting transport lay over the border – if any. In the end the trip was quite easy though long asour bus continued over the border to a major Vietnamese city. After a 6 am start, a morning of breath taking scenery and a windiness factor that blitzed all previous records, by about 2 o’clock I was ready to arrive. Unfortunately we still had 6 hours and a couple of transport changes to go!! We made it in the end and thankfully have put the last of our extensive bus travel behind us.
A couple of days in Hanoi and a boat trip to Halong Bay are all that remain before we are on our way to London!
