Hello everyone back home in Guildford! I can’t believe it…I’ve arrived!
So here I am in a dodgy internet café in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, where I’ve been for the past week. What a week is has been! You know me, such a chatterbox when excited, I got chatting to the guy next to me on the plane – Jose who is Spanish and travelling around SEA just like me – and he has turned into my surprise travel buddy.
After a long flight delay, we got to the hotel from the airport at 1am to find only one room left; so I ended up having to share with a perfect stranger! I didn’t envy him sleeping on the floor, but it was a short night with the noises of busy Hanoi waking us up bright and early!
The next morning we rented a motorbike and decided to take off into the mountains and find a hotel in the valley that had room for both of us. So off we went armed with just a small bag of clothes to the town we had been told to head towards. Not only were there no hotels…no B&B’s or English speaking locals either!
Finally, after lots of pointing, sign language and confused looks, we took off to another town 35k away down what can only be called a mud track.
We arrive at 10 o clock, filthy, exhausted, fit to drop; but luckily we stumbled upon a hotel with rooms available. The guy behind the desk chances his arm and asks for $15 US per room, but we managed to barter him down to $8.
After what i can only describe as the most glorious shower of my life, we ask the guy at the front desk if there is anywhere to eat. He makes a phone call and asks a boy to show us a place down the street. It's clear that the restaurant was opened just for our benefit and before long we are tucking into pork with fried noodles and vegetable and an ice cold beer, all for less than £2.50. Brilliant!
I’m here for 2 more days; the trekking is absolutely unreal and I feel like I could stay here forever but Halong Bay is calling me so off I go!
Will check in again soon! Love you all!
