So, today’s the day we check out but our sleeper train to Hanoi aint until 9.30 so we have some time to kill. I have a dodgy stomach, which is due to the real ale – bleurgh – and am a tad grumpy this morning. To top it all off, we end up having noodles for brekkie – not what I had in mind!!
As we’ve got some time to kill, we’re thinking of heading through to Hoi Ann for the day. We don’t want to get scammed by a moped driver or taxi, so we decide to head for the local bus station. Must be one of them round here being the 4th largest city and all…..hmmm…..we go to the first hotel we see to ask for a map or if the woman can direct us to the bus station. She says ‘oh errrr, I forget where the bus station is, but if you wait a while our tourist booking agency will help you with your trip’. Aye right, good one….
Off we trot to the tourist information centre – of course they’ll know……….haha – not so much either!!!!! They all look blank and give us a map , which is about as useful as a chocolate fireguard….hayley grumpiness starts to intensify and we just wander around aimlessly hoping to catch glimpse of a local bus. At last, we do!!! It looks like an old American school bus, yellow with all the windows open! We hop on………while the bus is moving! Poor Dave had to run alongside it for a bit – mentalists they are!! And once again, we’re the only westerners on this bus! Everyone stares for a bit but they get bored and we spend a bumpy 40 minute ride to Hoi Ann.
I’m sure we’ve been ripped off on the bus – it only costs about £2 but still….when the guy was taking money off a local, he blantantly stood in front of me so I couldn’t see what the local was handing over!! I’m getting really annoyed with everyone just wanting to take us all for a ride. We don’t rip the tourists off at home – I mean, yeah the castle is expensive, but if I wanted to go up there and wander around I PAY THE SAME RATE AS THE TOURISTS!!!!!!!!! RAGE!!!!!!!!!!!! I express this opinion to the boys and Dave keeps quiet while Aaron goes on about how they don’t earn as much as we do back home. I know that!!! But why do the locals pay one price and the tourists pay another? We could be skint – in fact we are! We’re fecking jobless!!! I’m already in a mood due to stomach ache and to top it all off, the winning phrase that makes my day ‘aww Hayley, cheer up will ya. Go on and give us a smile’
So off the bus and we go for a wee 20 min walk to the old town of Hoi Ann. This place is wicked – every shop is a clothes shop with made to measure adverts. I sooooooo want to spend all my money here – unfortunately, I’m with ‘Mr We Spend No Money on Holiday’ L raaaaa – its nice to walk around and at last, we see some tourists! This is where they’ve all been hiding!! We have a few drinks at this nice bar place and I get to have my first glass of wine since we left!!! Aw man, its soooooo good!! Double the price of the boy’s beers, but hey ho, I deserve it. We stop there to eat and get annoyed by loud americans and loud french people behind us. They’re always there!!
We get the bus back at 6pm, which is another hairy ride back to the centre of town in the dark!!! Luckily, our bags are still at the hotel and we sit and chill for an hour or so until we get a cab to the train station. Train arrives at 9.40pm and we know the score with the sleeper trains now – we’re pros!! We walk miles to our carriage and find that the blooming guards have been sleeping in our compartment! Pah, the cheek!! It’s all good, as we end up having the carriage to ourselves. Again, poker is played and the boys drink the minging Hanoi Vodka, which tastes like it’s mixed with petrol – ugh! We hit the sack around 1ish.
Hayley
As we’ve got some time to kill, we’re thinking of heading through to Hoi Ann for the day. We don’t want to get scammed by a moped driver or taxi, so we decide to head for the local bus station. Must be one of them round here being the 4th largest city and all…..hmmm…..we go to the first hotel we see to ask for a map or if the woman can direct us to the bus station. She says ‘oh errrr, I forget where the bus station is, but if you wait a while our tourist booking agency will help you with your trip’. Aye right, good one….
Off we trot to the tourist information centre – of course they’ll know……….haha – not so much either!!!!! They all look blank and give us a map , which is about as useful as a chocolate fireguard….hayley grumpiness starts to intensify and we just wander around aimlessly hoping to catch glimpse of a local bus. At last, we do!!! It looks like an old American school bus, yellow with all the windows open! We hop on………while the bus is moving! Poor Dave had to run alongside it for a bit – mentalists they are!! And once again, we’re the only westerners on this bus! Everyone stares for a bit but they get bored and we spend a bumpy 40 minute ride to Hoi Ann.
I’m sure we’ve been ripped off on the bus – it only costs about £2 but still….when the guy was taking money off a local, he blantantly stood in front of me so I couldn’t see what the local was handing over!! I’m getting really annoyed with everyone just wanting to take us all for a ride. We don’t rip the tourists off at home – I mean, yeah the castle is expensive, but if I wanted to go up there and wander around I PAY THE SAME RATE AS THE TOURISTS!!!!!!!!! RAGE!!!!!!!!!!!! I express this opinion to the boys and Dave keeps quiet while Aaron goes on about how they don’t earn as much as we do back home. I know that!!! But why do the locals pay one price and the tourists pay another? We could be skint – in fact we are! We’re fecking jobless!!! I’m already in a mood due to stomach ache and to top it all off, the winning phrase that makes my day ‘aww Hayley, cheer up will ya. Go on and give us a smile’
So off the bus and we go for a wee 20 min walk to the old town of Hoi Ann. This place is wicked – every shop is a clothes shop with made to measure adverts. I sooooooo want to spend all my money here – unfortunately, I’m with ‘Mr We Spend No Money on Holiday’ L raaaaa – its nice to walk around and at last, we see some tourists! This is where they’ve all been hiding!! We have a few drinks at this nice bar place and I get to have my first glass of wine since we left!!! Aw man, its soooooo good!! Double the price of the boy’s beers, but hey ho, I deserve it. We stop there to eat and get annoyed by loud americans and loud french people behind us. They’re always there!!
We get the bus back at 6pm, which is another hairy ride back to the centre of town in the dark!!! Luckily, our bags are still at the hotel and we sit and chill for an hour or so until we get a cab to the train station. Train arrives at 9.40pm and we know the score with the sleeper trains now – we’re pros!! We walk miles to our carriage and find that the blooming guards have been sleeping in our compartment! Pah, the cheek!! It’s all good, as we end up having the carriage to ourselves. Again, poker is played and the boys drink the minging Hanoi Vodka, which tastes like it’s mixed with petrol – ugh! We hit the sack around 1ish.
Hayley
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