By the time we were on the train I had cracked and was smoking again, the train ride however started as any other train ride we have done but within half an hour we were clinging to the side of massive green hills that dropped down below to lush rice fields and massive views of the sea, we had soft seated tickets and everyone else on the train had their curtains drawn trying for some Zzzz’s so Georgie and I slipped out to the sleeper carriage where we could hog the windows and soak up the views. It was the best train ride I have ever been on it was just stunning, we chugged over some really secluded beaches and bays with crystal clear water and untouched white sand that just screamed our names, and if we get the chance we will definitely go back and find them!
The ride was only 3 hours long and then we were in Hue… Not that we had planned at all to do or see any of Hue, we had to stop there to get a bus ticket on to Hanoi and didn’t really have the time to spare. That said we had a little wander around and it was a nice little town, there is plenty of culture and history in Hue but we just didn’t have the time so we booked our sleeper bus tickets to Hanoi for the next day and just chilled out… Again I had attempted to give up and wasn’t really in the mood for “culture”.
From the outside the sleeper bus looks like a beautiful thing, a long haul bus with seats that recline almost to beds and run right through the night… Like a cruise ship for the tarmac. In reality though its a fucking nightmare! The roads are bumpy, the driver is constantly honking and swerving and they make regular toilet stops all night long… I would much rather have had a good night sleep and been on the bus all day, next time we will take the train!
We arrived in Hanoi at 8am and after that night on the bus we were both ratty as hell. We barked at a taxi driver to take us to Hanoi’s Old quarter and we were soon in a hotel… Where we quickly fell asleep to make up for the bus… I think we woke up at 4pm and went for a stroll around the old quarter.
Hanoi is a beautiful city and the old quarter is like something out of a film, its exactly what you would see if you imagined what a chaotic asian city would be like. The sound of horns honking is constant, there are people laughing and shouting on the streets everywhere, people carrying little grills around selling all sorts with their conical hats on, Food markets and chickens escaping, beautiful old buildings sandwiched between bars and cafes… All with a river of mopeds flowing through the middle which makes crossing the road quite a skill. We ended up in a bar and sat with some beers and watched the madness all unfold outside for an hour or two before going back to our hotel for the night, still knackered from the mammoth bus journey…