冒它的风险为饼干

Understand? Nope, didn’t think so. No matter how much I tried to imagine a country so alien that I could not understand one single thing, written or spoken, I don’t think I could have done the resulting confusion when we crossed the border into China justice. It is a little bit disconcerting when you’re met by a bewildered – and sometimes frightened – look everywhere you go when you’re simply just trying to say “Hello”. So, in this manner, we began to guess and point our way through Chinese menus.

Getting our visas for China proved a little difficult. As always though, the solution was startlingly easy – we simply took the audacious risk (see title… well, sort of) of paying a small fortune to send our passports away for 10 days, down the entire length of Vietnam, with a sketchy budget travel agents, plus a large “fee” – the recipient of which we weren’t completely sure – and waited in the misty mountains of Sapa on the border to be cheerfully greeted by our passports. Needless to say it was a long wait.

Sapa

Sapa, it transpires, is actually a lovely place to spend several anxious days, counting down the minutes until our only really imperative travelling possession is returned safely to us. We passed the time on a trek into some of the neighbouring minority villages, drinking ‘happy water’ – or rice wine – and fighting off attacks from determined souvenir saleswomen. However, they finally did arrive, and we were away!

Have you ever woken up suddenly with the feeling that you’re falling? Well, we both woke several times actually falling on our first night bus in China, as our cumbersome death trap ploughed off the tarmac, onto a dirt road only suitable  for heavily armoured military vehicles. However, this was not as unpleasant as relieving yourself in a Chinese bus station toilet (for men or women), as the facilities consisted solely of a floor with holes in it – and no partitions. Lovely.

Dali

To overcome our traumas, we’re currently spending a few days relaxing and exploring Dali – a hippy paradise set in the high Yunnan hills. So now you will have to excuse me, I have a Mandarin lesson with Laura.

Bonjamon x

Good Night Vietnam

Vietnam today is very different from the image that many of you probably have imprinted on your memory from the war time or just the numerous Vietnam war films we have all seen.  Today, Vietnam is a country of 5 star beach resorts, beautiful mountains and the most lovely people that we have met in all of South East Asia.

Vietnam is roughly the size of Italy but has a population of over 86 million making it the 13th most populous country in the world. The ever increasing population causes many problems within society but it also means that the roads are jam packed with motorbikes making them virtually impossible to cross. Pedestrian crossings are non existent and even red lights are ignored. It can therefore take an inexperienced Westerner like me up to 30 mins to cross a road! You must move very slowly out, letting the traffic drive round you and at times just stand there with your eyes closed hoping nothing will hit you;

A quiet Sunday morning in Hanoi

Aside from that adventure, our journey has been very calm and relaxing. We have been travelling around in Vietnamese sleeper buses. An innovative invention which does exactly what it says on the tin, a bus with beds on it! Like me, you may have visions of a rock star’s tour bus and you wouldn’t be far wrong. Well, if a tour bus had 3 rows of bunk beds designed by a a very short person who wanted to take revenge on tall people by designing the smallest, narrowest beds possible. I tried to take a photo to show you but unfortunately they just don’t do it justice!

Onto more cultural subjects and shopping! Vietnam is one of the best, and cheapest, places in the world to have clothes custom made for you. You can literally walk into any shop, browse through the Next catalogue, choose an outfit and it will be made in 24 hours. Amazing. We both had suits made and I also had a dress, skirt, shirt………..(!)

Seriously though, we have done some cultural things! Whilst in Hoh Chi Minh (that’s Saigon for our slightly older readers) we visited the harrowing War Remnants museum and the Cu Chi tunnels (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_war). Although we were very saddened to find that the latter had been turned into a veritable army run theme park.

Finally, I’m sure any bookmakers would give you very long odds on meeting someone you know whilst travelling but I managed to bump into not one but two old school friends on an overnight bus to Hanoi! We have been travelling with them for the last week and had a fantastic trip sailing on a junk boat in Halong Bay. For once, adventure sports were off the menu as we enjoyed relaxing kayaking, cycling and trekking round the numerous islands in the bay.

So it’s Good Night Vietnam and please keep everything crossed that we will be able to get our visas for China!

Much love, Lau x

Trying a local speciality, snake wine!