10 Feb 10 Hanoi, suicidal motorists and rabid monkeys
We left Sapa in the evening of 5th February by overnight train. The train was much comfier than those prison like sleepers we experienced in China. For starters there’s only 4 to a room and you have a door you can shut.
We arrived in Hanoi early on 6th then went straight to our hotel in the Old Quater of Hanoi. This was the final day for some of the group and it was time to say goodbye to Hue, our leader for the last 5 days. Although she is a bit of a twat so there’s no loss there. We spent most of the day walking around the markets buying fake DVDs and at the post office. In the evening we went out for drinks, which led to one too many. After 12 the bars ‘close’ but if you knock on the doors they let you in. In one particular bar there was a group of Americans; now it doesn’t need mentioning that in the main, Americans are sometimes quite unaware that their personal views are not that of the rest of the world. So sitting at a bar listening to some yank claim the Vietnam war never happened was going to make a few people irrate. It’s ok, Aimee solved the problem by steeling his chair. Yankies 0 - Brits 1~!
Another thing worth noting about Hanoi is the motorists; those on Vespas and scooters to be more precise. Theres no traffic control or lights so crossing the road is an absolute nightmare. Just cross and hope you don’t get taken down by one.
The next day we met our new leader, Quan, and some new guys - Sandy and Hillary.
On 8th February we woke up early to go to Cat Ba Island. We first got the bus to Halong Bay then enjoyed our own private boat through to CatBa. Again, we met some Canadians which was reason enough to get smashed.
On 9th we woke up early, again, this time to punish ourselves with a one hour kayaking adventure to Monkey Island… and there was monkeys. Exactly like the one’s in the ‘Where’s your head at?’ video by Basement Jaxx. They took an instant liking to anyone with food and when the food was gone they took to attacking those with empty bags of nuts. Kinda funny! Although it wasn’t for Jackie!
