The 32 hour bus ride to Hanoi from Vang Vieng cost around $28, 1/6th of the price of a flight.  Sleeping pills became my new best friend.  I passed out for about 28 of the 32 hours.  I was woken up to the locals on the bus telling everyone to get off.  As everyone is walking off the bus, the locals are stashing bags and bags of pills into the stereo system.  May I remind you, smuggling drugs across the border into Vietnam is punishable by the Death Penalty!  I found it more humorous than frightening, but definitely still checked my bag thoroughly upon getting off of the bus.  We had to wait about 4 hours at the Vietnam border for the customs office to open.  Once the office opened, the local Lao people on the bus grabbed our passports and went right into the office with them.  To be honest I was a little sketched out not having my passport on me, but in Asia, you have to just trust the locals.  After crossing in about an hour, we had about a 4 hour ride more to go.

 

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Laos-Vietnam Border

 

 

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Congested streets in Hanoi!

 

We arrived in Hanoi and stayed at a crazy cheap hostel.  $2.50 per night, including free beer and breakfast.  I don’t remember the name of the place, but wouldn’t even recommend it if I did.  However, one of my favorite hostels was in Hanoi, Hanoi Rocks.  The place turned into a nightclub around 6-7pm during their free beer Happy Hour.  We left our crappy hostel after one night and checked in there.  I met so many people there who I still stay in touch with now, including a local who worked there named Ashley; A super smart Vietnamese student studying law.  She was really funny, informative about Hanoi, and spoke very good English.

 

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Ashley and I

 

One day in Hanoi was spent walking to the B52 plane that crashed into a lake during the Vietnam War.  We were walking around with our shirts off because it was so damn hot, and the military, who held AK’s, were just staring at us.  I later found out from Ashley that where we were strolling was  one of the most prominent government areas of all of Vietnam.  Oops…  Another half-day was spent going to Hoa Lo Prison, where the Vietcong (VC) kept prisoners of war during the Vietnam War, including John McCain.  We also walked about 45 minutes to see Ho Chi Minh’s body, and when we got there, they said it was being worked on in Russia, which was kind of upsetting.

 

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Max and our Irish crew in Hanoi.

 

 

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B52 American Aircraft

 

 

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Inside Hoa Lo Prison block

 

SM booking office deserves a spot on this post; her own paragraph for that matter.  Ms. Pham was the nicest lady that I met my entire trip in Asia, and maybe even the nicest woman I’ve ever met in my life.  To start, she gave Max and I an amazing deal on our Sa Pa tour, trekking, and homestay.  Round trip transportation, 6 meals, trekking guides, and a night at a local’s house for $37.  I know people who paid more than $75 for this.  She gave me her email and we kept in touch in Sa Pa after a natural disaster landslide (RIP to the Lao Cai that passed away) caused our bus to not leave the night we were supposed to.  We had a group of 7, and she laid out about $75-$100 for us to take a bus directly to Halong Bay, instead of coming back to Hanoi first.  She simply told me to just pay her upon returning to Hanoi.  She booked the bus, took care of all the phone calls when the bus went to the wrong location, paid for our taxi, and even reimbursed Max and I for our bus that was cancelled because of the storm.  She kept in touch with me the entire time telling me to be careful, keep safe, that she just wanted us happy.  This was really heartwarming to me.  When we returned to Hanoi I gave her the biggest hug and told her I’d leave her an excellent review on Trip Advisor.  It’s locals like her that really made my experience on this trip amazing.  Selfless, caring individuals, with the desire to take care of tourists and westerners, making them feel as comfortable as possible.  Thank you Nguyet!

Hanoi nightlife was decent.  It started out with drinking, playing pong, and partying at Hanoi Rocks.  Walking around the Old Quarter was fun and Beer 2kU was a decent bar with a lot of locals which made it cool.  Laughing gas is popular, and is sold at the bar in Hanoi Rocks, if that’s your thing.  The happy hour included a keg that was for free until it was kicked.  Breakfast at the hostel was one of the best free breakfasts of any hostel all trip, including omelets cooked right in front of you.  This is one hostel that I would be able to work at if I went back.  Super clean, BEAUTIFUL bathrooms, and very fun 20 bed dorms.  Hanoi set off a good start to being in Vietnam!

 

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Spending time with locals at Beer 2kU