Hanoi Vietnam

Hi Guys

Sorry it's been a while since posting but the internet connections have been so slow and frustrating over the past week that i was tearing my hair out. Still very slow here in Vietnam but I'll perservere!

So, we've been to some varied places since we posted last. I think we were in Luang Prabang last time....

We discovered that bus travel in Laos (and consequently in Vietnam) is ridiculously slow... the average speed we've achieved is 30 km/h!!!! Oh my god... my hair went grey with the boredom! But we got to Ponsavanh in Laos which is the local town to the Plain of Jars - eerie standing jars made from stone in the middle of nowhere. And even weirder is that noone knows what they're for!

Ponsavanh was weird - like a wild west ghost town! So we left rather than spend our last two days in Laos there. So we went to Sam Neua - a border town in Laos in the middle of nowhere - another 9 hour journey. Then yesterday we had the most epic journey ever. We started at 6am, caught a large tuk-tuk to the border (open to the very cold elements!), then crossed the border (a 1.5hr ordeal with bag checks), then had to recruit a quarantine officer to help us negotiate with the bus driver to Hanoi who wanted to charge us US$35 for the journey (we got it for US$25 in the end). Then followed the most death-defying bus journey yet - 10 hours of it!

We are so relieved to be here in Hanoi.... what a lovely, cosmopolitan city with beautiful shops, casual cafes, and lovely buildings. Just what the doctor ordered! And you know what's best? I'm getting my hair done tomorrow!!!! - i can't wait.... after 5 months without a colour or cut, it's high time i lose the "minging" look and head towards "somewhat attractive". As you can probably tell, I'm getting sick of looking like shit, wearing the same clothes and just feeling yuck.

Anyway, Vietnam seems really lovely - if a little money-hungry (everyone's trying to rip us off!). There's a great feeling here, and it seems like it'll be a much easier travel than in Laos.

Hope you're all well and happy. Missing you all.

Kxxxxx