A market in Hanoi is a unique place. Like a whirling planet of activity all happening within the confines of a thimble. The aisles are so cramped that a single person can barely squeeze through, and just imagine what happens when someone stops to look at something in one of those tiny aisle shops.

The eye of the storm

Inside a large dingy building the market buzzes with life from inhumanly early til late in evening, selling everything from hair scrunchies, wristwatches and dust masks to funny Asian hats (they are all about the hat here), shoes, and luggage. Amazingly we didn’t buy a single thing because most of what is being peddled here is junk. Occasionally there is something decent quality but more often than not, even the cheap junk is overpriced and looks as if it might fall apart if you look at it the wrong way.

In the market

Still it was an interesting place to get into and certainly a good place to get in with the people of Hanoi since there were exactly 2 foreigners present (um, that would be us). We got some funny looks and some funny prices too and eventually made our way out through the jam packed aisles and over the ankle deep garbage littering the floor from all the packaging. Stepping back outside into the streets made us realize the market was just a shrunken version of Hanoi. Same trash, noise, buzz of activity, same close quarters, self-centered people, just less mopeds.

At 6:30am, we pulled into Hanoi. Well, more like 25km outside Hanoi city. It was still dark and we were still kind of asleep when we shared a taxi with someone to downtown to try to find a place to sleep for the night. At least we were getting any early start!

Streets of Hanoi

We got a “cheap room” the manager called it, for $6 with wifi, hot shower, and TV—whoa now! Granted, it was pretty shabby and there was definitely someone else’s hair in the sheets and the door doesn’t actually close and but hey, it’s the penthouse suite! Stair-access only, up 7 floors. A good view right? Hanoi isn’t really a place for “good views.” It is hazy and overcast from sun up to sun down. Not to mention that it is freakin’ cold here! What happened to all those people who said, “Oh yeah, Hanoi is sweltering hot this time of year.”?!

Street cat

Anyway, our first day in Vietnam. What a surprise! It is not like any other Asian country we have been to. It’s not western but heavily western influenced, with a large side of Socialist art and propaganda covering the city. A weird mixture to be sure but not at all unpleasant. The parks are not as sterile and concrete as China’s are; the people don’t stare as much, they don’t stop in the middle of the sidewalk unexpectedly like a lot of other Asian countries, but they still walk incredibly slow and take up the entire sidewalk (well, where one exists) and act generally unfriendly and rude on the streets according to western manners.

Hanoi traffic

We are not saying they are rude or even unfriendly but they are not very giving when it comes to sharing space, smiling or even looking somewhat approachable, and they certainly don’t “see” other people as they are moving through the streets. A typical self-oriented Asian culture. But they are nice enough to talk to, service in restaurants is very good, not like in Lao where if they see you looking straight at them they will literally leap into some hiding spot and wait until you are either (a) not looking anymore, or (b) you are so hungry that you have to leave the restaurant to find somewhere else to eat before you croak.

Lindsey in the cafe

Traffic here in Hanoi is absolutely insane. Lanes do not exist and traffic signs and lights are so rare that you would be hard pressed to find even one of either. Mopeds outnumber cars, buses, pedestrians and the brave folks on bicycles by the hundreds. It is a free-for-all when it comes to driving. Anywhere is game and the sidewalks are strictly for parking mopeds. Horn honking is extraordinarily loud and overused and if you are one of the unfortunate fools walking around Hanoi, you had better be very brave and very predictable. Otherwise you will likely end up with your spine lying in a big twisted knot on the ground as you go by, all compliments of 85 mopeds whizzing by willy nilly. And for crossing the infamously huge intersections of Hanoi, really it is best to just go for it. Traffic will indeed part for you. One very important thing to know: never ever cross in front of a bus (mini or full size) or a taxi. They will actually go out of their way to run over you. Bus drivers are universally maniacal because they are dealing with stupid people all day long and that makes anyone angry and a bit crazed.

Mopeds in Hanoi

So our stroll around the neighborhood to see what was around turned into a several hours long trek through madness and getting-lost-ness because every shop, hotel, and tour agency in Hanoi is named exactly the same thing. Same signs too. All in all, Hanoi is a a crazy place with relatively little to see and do but a place that you just can’t miss. It’s the city itself that is the draw. First order of business, get a bloody map.

Between the hours of 5am and 6:30am the next morning, we were on a bus. Correction: 2 buses. Crossing the Vietnamese border was pretty much a piece of cake. It was slower than it needed to be because it seemed like the officials were looking to find any possible reason to hold up someone just for the fun of it. Since everyone on our bus was prepared with a proper visa and everything else, there was nothing they could do but sulk. (It’s a universal border official pastime.)

Waiting around for the bus

Anyway, we got to Vinh at 5:30pm and the next bus on to Hanoi was at 10m. We made good use of the free time: drinking and talking loudly with new friends. We met a couple of Dutch kids, a quiet Russian guy, and a French Canadian who was more Canadian than French. Dinner was simple enough and the beer wasn’t the least bit cold but we were all happy to have some new company.

Lindsey, Saben and the Canadian

By 10:00 we were boarding the sleeper bus and discovered that the very back of the bus had bunk beds that held 3 people each, sleeping side by side. Why on earth there were such beds on this bus, we can only guess, but it was ridiculous and a bit funny that we 6 new friends were assigned those 2 communal beds. Needless to say, it was a crowded night bus cheap enough at only $6 for the overnight to Hanoi. And the best part, no Lao music! Good riddance, Lao buses!!

(To see the Lao photo gallery click here)

Favorite moments:

• Moped-ing around the country side
• Exploring the Plain of Jars all by ourselves
• Moon bears and waterfalls in the park
• Fantastic western food at Joma Cafe

Not so great:

• Lao food
• Lao buses
• Lao music/videos

Total Money Spent Per Person: $329.28

Average Per Day Costs Per Person:

• Lodging: $4.52
• Food: $7.31
• Transportation: $6.44
• Misc: $2.31 (Beer, going out, guides, park entrance, etc.)

Total Average Per Day, Per Person: $20.58

Number of Days: 16

First day we arrived and it was freezing!! Of course we were still in shorts since Vientiane was so warm. We rested a bit the first day and checked around to see how exactly we wanted to go about seeing the Plain of Jars.

Jars... on a plain

Second day, we solved our query by renting a motorbike and taking ourselves on a tour. There are 3 sites of jars, site 1 being just about 10km or so outside town. Sites 2 & 3 are just a bit farther down the road, maybe another 5km.

They are pretty large

The roads to the sites are very well marked with large billboards in English so you really can not miss the turns. From the signs expect to drive another 3-5km to the actual entrance to the sites. Parking is plentiful and for us it was free although we have heard the they sometimes charge a small fee to park.

More jars

Entrance costs 10,000 Kip/pp and you can easily and safely guide yourself along the well-worn paths through the fields. Be sure to stay only on the paths and do not venture into any areas marked as unsafe (where there are possibly still unexploded ordinances in the ground) because getting blown to bits on your vacation would be a real downer.

Lindsey isn't scared

In town tour prices we checked at several offices ranged from 160,000 to 220,000 Kip per person with a minivan and guide (unnecessary because there is limited information and the paths are clearly marked as to safe/unsafe areas). The motorbike we rented was 80,000 Kip total and that even included the gas.

Us on our moped

Another 20,000 Kip total for admission at Site 1 and our day at the Plain of Jars cost a total, for both of us, 100,000 Kip! Quite a savings from 50,000 Kip if you drive yourself (not to mention how much more fun it is!) compared to a minimum of 160,000 Kip with a tour operator. Sure, we decided only to go to Site 1 but honestly that was definitely enough jars for us. For us it was worth it and we spent the rest of the afternoon driving out around the countryside by ourselves having a great time and just enjoying the views.

Lao country side

With some early morning negotiation powers we arranged a visa pick up, a stop at the concrete monster called Victory Gate, and then back to where we started for 30,000 Kip/pp. Of course we had to insist that we would only take 5 minutes at the embassy and 10 minutes at Victory Gate, which we did at both places. We scurried up the 7 stories of Victory Gate and back down in record time, much to our tuk tuk driver’s pleasure. Easy money for him, power sightseeing for us.

Victory gate

Unfortunately, today was a hurry up and wait kind of day. We had to get the visas before the embassy closed for the day and then had to wait for our night bus at 7PM to Phonsavan. The bus was, as expected of any Lao bus, utterly miserable and suicide-inducing.

View across Vientiane

In fact we stopped in the middle of the night to install a DVD player so we could listen to the sweet tunes of Lao music the rest of the night. By the time we arrived in Phonsavan we were clawing at the windows. Glad to get to Phonsavan is an understatement.

In the back of a tuk tuk we bounced and sped out of Vientiane to Buddha Park. About 26 km outside the city is a small park by the Mekong filled with numerous different styles of Buddha statues.

Budda feeling a bit grey

The entire park was built in 1958 by one man who left Laos shortly after and crossed the river to Thailand where he built another identical park. A great place to spend a few minutes even though the ride out to it does take quite a while.

Open wide!

The Park

In the park

Back Demon!

Entrance is 8000 Kip for you and your camera too. Don’t miss the inside of the giant structure just by the entrance!

Very little to tell of these last several days. Funny, this whole traveling around the world thing requires lots of moving around. We took another awful all day bus from Luang Prabang to Vientiane and spent the next couple of days hanging out, walking around the city, and just generally waiting on our Vietnamese visa coming in another couple days.

Warning!

Travel Tip: – Vietnamese Visa in Vientiane, Laos

In case you are heading Vietnam from Laos, you can easily apply for your visa at the Vietnam Embassy, nearby Victory Gate. The application process took maybe 10 minutes to fill out the paper, turn it in, and leave again. From the riverside we caught a tuk tuk to the embassy for 10,000 Kip/pp. The visa (for Americans) cost $45 or 405,000 Kip (about $46-47 depending on the current exchange rate).

At the last minute we decided to jump on a minibus heading for the Khuangsi Waterfall, about 30km outside Luang Prabang. The waterfall is actually a series of different size pools with ice cold, aqua blue water in the middle of the woods.

Backflip into the pool

On the way through we stopped by the Bear Rescue Center to visit some cute moon bears. We got there just in time to see them being fed lunch so they were pretty excited to get out into their larger enclosures with the playground.

Moon Bear

The falls

The falls cost 20,000 Kip admission and the Bear Rescue Center is technically free but donations are appreciated. We had a great day being out and about at the falls. Nice to be out of the city for a bit!

We walked to the top of Phousi Hill, the site of a very old wat that looks over the city. It was a nice breezy view—we could even see the puny airport from the top! It’s been pretty hot in Luang Prabang and it was a welcome chance to get out of the heat for a bit. We were so winded for climbing a few stairs that we had to go repair to our room to watch HBO. (What’s that you say? Burned out? Nooooo, of course not!)

Vew over the city

Stupa at the top