The Bus (12-14/12/08)

FRIDAY 12TH DECEMBER

Packed again for the second time in two days. I'm getting quite good at it now as all my stuff fits in my bag again like it did when I first started. Couldn't really go too far today as we had to catch the night bus to Hue at 5:30p.m. I got into a bit of an argument with the receptionist at the hotel. She told me the exchange rate for the dong was 17,400 dong to the dollar when its only 17,000. She was trying to con me out of 8,000VND which isn't a lot, in fact it's about 32p, which in hindsight I could really have let pass. Mind you we are on a budget.
We had one last stroll around the town and had a bit of lunch, and watched the world go by as we sat pondering what state our sleeper bus would be in. We arrived at our designated pick up point 30mins before the bus was due, and subsequently waited 2hours for it to arrive. Somebody should give these people the telephone number for the speaking clock, or maybe even just a watch that told the right time.
So to the bus itself. On first appearances it looked OK, but then first appearances can be very deceptive. Turns out this was probably the most uncomfortable I have ever been in my entire life. Louise was in a bed two rows down from me as we were the last on the bus so we had to get in the last beds available. I was on a top bunk next to two Italians who new about as much English as I new Italian (which for me happens to be; hello, goodbye and 1, 2, 3, and 4.) and a guy from Israel who only spoke Hebrew, which left our interaction at a quick nod, so zero conversation for me for 15 hours. I am not a small man, but when you have a T.V hanging about 10 inches above your area, on what can't be the sturdiest of racks in the first place, attached by one bolt to the ceiling, it doesn't make for a comfortable nights sleep. So my journey consisted of; 10 hours of ipod music, a dead arm, two dead legs, a side strain, a neck strain and almost freezing to death due to the air-con fans not shutting either side of me. All in all I had approximately 5 hours of sleep, constantly interrupted by the honking of the horn every 20 mins by the craziest bus driver ever who uses the white lines in the road as a a guide not a lane marker.

SATURDAY 13TH DECEMBER

After getting of the bus we stopped at the first hotel we came to, which happened to be the one we were dropped at. We went straight to our room and got a couple more hours sleep as it was only 8:30a.m. We finally arose from our pit and went to do a bit of a recce of the town. We found the Purple Palace and went for a look around. First though we had to purchase our entrance tickets. This involved us paying 55,000VND each (2.20GBP) and receiving our ticket. Literally 8 yards away was another man sat at a desk within full view of us, who then proceeded to ask us for said tickets, which I had just put away, so that he could check to see if we had paid. I know the Vietnamese are renowned for their bureaucracy but that takes the piss. We were in the grounds of the palace for less than an hour as it was being restored and was mostly a building site. Not recommended. Made our way back to the hotel, showered and changed and booked our journey to Hoi An as there isn't a lot to do here. Went out at night and ate the best Italian food I've ever had whilst being watched by a 15 inch rat. Got half cut, lost at pool, watched the football and went to bed ready for the 8:00a.m bus tomorrow.

SUNDAY 14TH NOVEMBER

The bus was only an hour late this morning. It seemed like three because of the effort it took to try and have a conversation with the most difficult Australian I've had the misfortune of meeting. A five hour bus journey was brightened up by a middle aged American named Jim who found it difficult to understand us both because of our accents. He did tell us a bit about what to do and not to do in Cambodia, and to try an visit San Diego instead of L.A. on the way home, as it's more chilled. Also he couldn't comprehend why Brits in general say 'proper' when they're referring to something that's not rubbish or correct, as in: 'Take a look at this map it's a proper one, not a photocopy.'
Hoi An is a quaint little town with a big river running through it. We arrived there at the bus companies hotel and told them to ram it when they wanted $25 for a double room when a single was only $10. Found another hotel for $8. Louise realised it was full of damp the minute she walked in. I have the same sense of smell as an anosmia sufferer (laymans: no sense of smell). She also left her fleece on the bus which pissed her off even more. Had a walk into the town later and it seemed pretty quiet so we went on the internet for the afternoon and set up Skype. It's awesome. Managed to speak to Louise's mum and dad which was nice. Found the bus that we came on parked down a side street and retrieved the lost fleece, so in the end it was a good day.