These VIP sleeper buses have three aisles with a bottom and top bunk. As the buses are made in Vietnam, they are clearly made for people with the same frame as Kate Moss. We turned up at the bus station nice and early to take our seats / beds and the bus was half empty... great!!
Five minutes before we were due to leave the bus was three quarters full... and then a minibus carying 20+ backpackers pulled up.
For the next two hours the mix of Canadian/English/European backpackers debated whether or not they could face 24 hours sleeping in the aisles. In the end, they decided they could...
As seems to be customary, all of the 6 foot Western blokes were lumped together at the back, some in beds and the rest in the aisles - which is were they stayed for the next 24 hours. Oddly, spare beds were kept for the half dozen locals that we picked up on the way.
As soon as we set off, the mandatory Lao kareoke went on full blast - this time with video accompaniment. They seem to be about 4 hours long ànd have the same beat throughout, the emphasis doesn't sêem to be on the quality òf the singing either. This ísn't really very effective in helping you to drift off.
We drove until we reached the border town at around 2am and once there the driver parked up and went into his mates house, leaving everyone else on the bus. He reappeared at 6.30am and we drove to the border.
The Lonely Planet describes Cao Treo as "one of the most challenging crossings into Vietnam" and I cán see why. We were up a mountain in the middle òf nowhere with hundreds òf other people - most òf whom looked at ús like we'd just stepped off a space ship. Fair enough really, given the state of us.....
It took two hours to be stamped out of Laos and stamped into Vietnam and I think the whole thing would be impossible if you were travelling alone. One benefit of the bus then.
For the remainder of the journey we were treated to what seemed like a Chinese version of the Oscars but with the same amount òf "singing". Needless to say we didn't sleep very well, the journey felt more like an endurance exercise. Most of the people on the bus were really nice though, especially the poor girl who slept on the floor next to the toilet all night, so it was quite entertaining in an irritating sort of way....
Once we arived in Hanoi, a random guy got on to our bus to offer us all a mini bús to the city centre for a dollar each. Despite reading about numerous Vietnam scams and to be wary of all things vietnamese, all the backpackers (including us) followed him like sheep.
We were pleasantly sủrprised when (after turning down his hotel) he gave us a map and drew on dỉrections for the place we'd already booked. When we turned up at our gúesthouse, they offered us a 'free upgrade' to their sister hotel. Despite our fears for the worst, we were moved to a much nicer hotel which turned out to be the best we've stayed in so far....
Hanoi is an incredible city, with really friendly people and 7 million môtorbikes. I think somewhere along the way Lonely Planet has got confused and mistaken Vietnam for Laos in all it's descriptions....
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