And so I was headed to the last city of my solo trek: Hanoi.
My tactic to eat only cakes to avoid tummy problems going to Hanoi backfired massively. For the whole 10 hour trip I suffered stomach cramps, intense pain and trapped wind. I was once again crammed into another plastic bed seat that was too small for me. I attempted to angle myself in such a way that I could fart without anyone noticing - but that had mixed success. My fellow travellers shot some pretty unsavoury glances my way.
This whole thing was quite ironic since I hadn’t had any issues for the entire trip, and now, one time I did, it was as a result of actively trying to be careful.
However for better or for worse, we arrived in the city and disembarked in a cloud of faintly green air.
Hanoi was a big, clean, modern city which I wandered around a little. I spent the last of my small saving on some souvenirs, and felt sad about the impending end to my jaunt. The weather matched my mood somewhat. There was a perennial blanket of heavy cloud over the city, occasionally breaking out into patches of chilly rain.
I had just enough money to fund 2 excursions.
City tour
The first was a tour around the tomb of Ho Chi Minh. At this point I was bedraggled, skint and road weary. My tour-mates in contrast were affluent holidaying Americans. I felt very much like the odd one out. It rained the whole day. Two of the old folks I was with didn’t even want to get off the bus when we stopped.
Halong bay
Hanoi was a good staging point for tours of the famous Halong bay. I booked myself on a 2 day cruise as the last trip on my travels. In short: it was stunning.
Again, it was somewhat cloudy, but this made the little islands of the bay seem quite cool and mysterious.
It was 2 days & 1 night on the boat. Unlike the city tour my fellow cruisers were a younger bunch. For the night stop we moored up alongside another cruise boat. There was a buffet put on and we were provided with plenty of booze and a karaoke rig. I didn’t want a repeat of the Bohemian Rhapsody incident, so instead a few of us decided to head out onto the deck and chatted with some cruisers on the other boat.
They seemed friendly so we clambered over there to socialise. One of the “other boat people” was a girl who said her boyfriend had paid for her to go on a world trip for several months. I remember talking to her at length but other than the fact that she had just started a world tour I don’t really remember what we chatted about. I think I probably was moaning about having return to England because when I woke up the next day I found her in my bed, so can only assume she wanted to provide some comfort. I don't think anything happened though, we were both fully still clothed.
And before I knew it I was in a taxi headed to the airport, my heart filled with a strange dread. However at the same time I was happy I'd made it to the end of my trip, and I was looking forward to seeing my friends and family again.
My tactic to eat only cakes to avoid tummy problems going to Hanoi backfired massively. For the whole 10 hour trip I suffered stomach cramps, intense pain and trapped wind. I was once again crammed into another plastic bed seat that was too small for me. I attempted to angle myself in such a way that I could fart without anyone noticing - but that had mixed success. My fellow travellers shot some pretty unsavoury glances my way.
This whole thing was quite ironic since I hadn’t had any issues for the entire trip, and now, one time I did, it was as a result of actively trying to be careful.
However for better or for worse, we arrived in the city and disembarked in a cloud of faintly green air.
Hanoi was a big, clean, modern city which I wandered around a little. I spent the last of my small saving on some souvenirs, and felt sad about the impending end to my jaunt. The weather matched my mood somewhat. There was a perennial blanket of heavy cloud over the city, occasionally breaking out into patches of chilly rain.
I had just enough money to fund 2 excursions.
City tour
The first was a tour around the tomb of Ho Chi Minh. At this point I was bedraggled, skint and road weary. My tour-mates in contrast were affluent holidaying Americans. I felt very much like the odd one out. It rained the whole day. Two of the old folks I was with didn’t even want to get off the bus when we stopped.
Halong bay
Hanoi was a good staging point for tours of the famous Halong bay. I booked myself on a 2 day cruise as the last trip on my travels. In short: it was stunning.
Again, it was somewhat cloudy, but this made the little islands of the bay seem quite cool and mysterious.
It was 2 days & 1 night on the boat. Unlike the city tour my fellow cruisers were a younger bunch. For the night stop we moored up alongside another cruise boat. There was a buffet put on and we were provided with plenty of booze and a karaoke rig. I didn’t want a repeat of the Bohemian Rhapsody incident, so instead a few of us decided to head out onto the deck and chatted with some cruisers on the other boat.
They seemed friendly so we clambered over there to socialise. One of the “other boat people” was a girl who said her boyfriend had paid for her to go on a world trip for several months. I remember talking to her at length but other than the fact that she had just started a world tour I don’t really remember what we chatted about. I think I probably was moaning about having return to England because when I woke up the next day I found her in my bed, so can only assume she wanted to provide some comfort. I don't think anything happened though, we were both fully still clothed.
And before I knew it I was in a taxi headed to the airport, my heart filled with a strange dread. However at the same time I was happy I'd made it to the end of my trip, and I was looking forward to seeing my friends and family again.
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