Hanoi, Hue and the Lao Bao border

We arrived back in Hanoi on minibus and stayed at the same hotel as we had previously - Air con that actually worked, toilets that flushed properly... ahhh heaven.

I didn't go in to much detail about the hotel we stayed at in Lao Cai... probably because I have been trying to delete it from my memory... but it seemed to have the odd patron with the need for only an hour or so's use... (four shop fronts just up the road had tints in such that they glowed red at night)... and the last time our rooms had been used for a full night (let alone 5 nights in a row) was probably a very very long time ago seeing as the standard 'soap in a wrapper' had mould growing on it.
Situated between the main road to the border (only 300m up the road) and the main trainline it was pretty noisy too - coupled with the fact that the horn is used in lieu of mirrors in Vietnam. I swear some of the trucks had fog horns from ships attached rather than 'normal' horns.
We spent so long there, that at other restuarants I found myself standing back from the sink before turning the tap on (our sink neatly drained straight on to the floor). Our toilet had to be flushed by dipping in to the cistern as the 'string' mechanism to the handle was woefully inadequate, and the ball had to be replaced to stop it from refilling forever as the guide to allow it to drop back in to place was absolutely rubbish.
No hot water meant freezing cold showers (although that was a nice relief from the heat after you had got just about used to it).
Cockroaches had rummaged through our possesions, and geko's sprinted for the the doors and windows each time you turned the light on.

Anyway - I digress.. I think I will need therapy for Lao Cai...



Back in Hanoi, and after lack of dinner the previous night, and breakfast, we set off to KFC - Alex and Mel were the main protagonists, but none of the rest of us really argued... some food that is recognisable was a great comfort.

The whole team chatted about the likelyhood of getting through... Alex and I were very close to staying in Hanoi until a flight back to Singapore and on towards the UK as diverting to the Lao Bao border with the cars on trucks when we had been used to the painfully slow progress in minibuses (13 hours to go 300km for instance), and the slow arrival of the crashed car to the china border meant we were thinking it would take another 2 or 3 days for the cars to get to Lao Bao (over 1000km away).
The suggestion from the fixer for leg 4 to go that distance in a minibus as soon as we arrived in Hanoi got completely quashed. After the trip out of Dien Bien, there was absolutely no way I was getting in a minibus for an overnighter in Vietnam ever again. 'It's just not an option' 'we'll fly back to the UK from Hanoi'.
It was also a distinct possibility that progress through Laos would be slow, and Alex was concerned that the next major city, Bangkok, might not be made in time for him to fly back and get to work on monday.. and he really couldn't take more holiday (I had run out too, but had monday off).

...
'One last throw of the dice' Alex said.

After lunch, Ian, Malcolm, Mel (and possibly others) went to book flights to Hue with Vietnam airlines for the following morning.

The evening dinner was provided by our fixer, at a seafood restaurant (just as well we went to KFC - seafood isn't my strong point!) with the live fish and lobsters swimming about in tanks in the foyer. It felt a bit rude picking over the food - the lobster meat on bread was nice, but I didn't eat huge quantities of anything for fear of dodgy belly.

Our fixer sent us on our way for an early night in preparation for and early start to get the flights to Hue, although Alex updated the go60sharing site so we didn't get to sleep until 11pm.

The plan was to meet in the foyer at 4am ready to get in the minibus for 4.30am to get to the airport for our 6am flight to Hue. We set off at about 4.40am, and got to the airport at 5.10am... I think it was the closest I have ever been to missing a flight. There were huge queues at the check in desk, and by the time we got to the front it was 30 minutes to go. The check in clerk was on the radio... it wasn't helped by the fact we had somehow managed to end up with a winch kit to somehow sneak on with our luggage... Malcolm did his best to try and make it look light... but when the clerk went to attach tags it was all very clear that it was well over even the 20kg bag limit.
Perhaps because we were so close we got away with it... between myself and alex we had 15kg spare, but i'm sure our 14 checked in bags for 8 people was just ever so slightly taking the piss, and well over weight!
Malcolm's bag ended up being the last in, and was so late a guy came with a trolley to take it to the aircraft. 'You'll never see that again' we all said - although our own bags were probably far too late too.
5 minutes to go we were all checked in and had boarding cards - still security to go.
I had to relinquish a bottle of water... but was through fine. Mel got stopped and the guy took her bag. She was rather worried due to all the drugs in there and could have got stopped for hours.
With relief, it was just her water container they were after.
We boarded the plane with no time left on the clock....


To Vietnam Airways credit, we got to Hue, and every single piece of luggage had made it through. I doubt you'd get service or baggage handling like that from any airport in the UK...

We waited outside for our minibus that our fixer had arranged - whilst fending off all the other taxi drivers vying for business.
The trucks were still on route to the border, so we went to Hue for breakfast, and then walked across the bridge - infamous for an attack on the Americans in the Vietnam war - they got to halfway across before being sprayed with bullets from posts on top of the city wall.
It's a lovely place, and we had amazing weather - clear blue skys.

At 10.30 we got on the road to get to the boarder. The trucks would be there at about 1pm.

We arrive at about 2pm and find the trucks just up the road from the boarder.

'Check they are ok' says the fixer, so Malcolm and Ian scale the trucks like some monkies and peer in. 'They look fine to me'. Right - now pay the truck drivers $8000... er.. we don't have $8000.... We try to find a bank, but nowhere does dollars. 'Can you pay him and we'll pay you back?' It was agreed. Ian got on the email and phone to the UK - 'you need to pay the fixer the balance now'.
We found a place to eat - although a trip to the toilet which took you through the kitchens was either a bad thing as it put you off, or a good thing as you knew not to eat too much of it. Malcolm took great delight in taking photos of snakes in jars.
Beef noodle soup came out nice and hot, so there was a chance bateria would have been killed.

We returned to the road to find one of the trucks missing. It was just a short way away and was being backed up to an earth bank for unloading. However, the comedians had still got a 2 foot drop and had sent for some wooden planks that would be used to reverse the cars off with.
Much shaking of heads later... 'That's 3.5 tonnes... it will just snap' and 'even if it would hold the weight, which it won't, the cars are likely to just slide off the plank as it's only the width of the tyres'.
They were finally convinced to move the truck further down the road where the mud was higher.

Then a waiting game ensued. We couldn't unload the cars as there were some security tags on the tie downs to prove to customs that the cars had not been removed from the trucks. We sat in the minibus waiting...




and waiting.....




and waiting....



Finally at about 6pm the trucks disappeared down to the boarder (so much for prepping it ready to unload). We were told to wait at the minibus.
the driver got bored and disappeared - probably for dinner.
A guy on a scooter turned up, and wanted one person to go to the boarder. Malcolm jumped on... it was quite a comedy scene.

Malcolm phoned about 30mins later
'they want us down at the boarder'

the minibus driver was nowhere to be seen. We started the engine, beeped the horn, turned the ac on (finally!)... no sign.
Mel went to check out the food stalls, but the border shut at 6pm for trucks, so they had packed up and gone.
Finally about 15 mins later the driver appeared from the direction of the boarder. And we travelled down.

Passports out.. immigration stamped us out.
On the other side.. my heart dropped.
The trucks where there, but the rear door was down, and they had just parked up at the kurb.
I think I lost my sense of humour.
'NO... NO'
The magical planks reappeared. Somehow these comedians thought that if we weren't happy with the first mud bank, that we'd be happy just taking the 4 foot drop straight to the floor instead - but it's ok, there are some planks for you to reverse down... 2 inch by 20 inch planks.

'No way. Stop. NO.' they were bracing the plank ramps with supports half way down. 'No'.
Malcolm was in the undergrowth. 'We need to find somewhere to unload the cars', 'Why can't they go up to the mud we were just at', 'the cars have cleared vietnam - they're not allowed back in', 'What?' pause 'who the hell authorised that? there is no way we'll get them off here. I can see the blog entry now 'leg 4 writes off the other four cars by reversing them straight off a 4 foot drop off the back of a truck''
'Look, we don't have an option, we need to find a solution'.

I clambered on to the roof of one of the cars, but just couldn't see any raised ground in no mans land. Malcolm was still forraging.

I decided there was no way i'd be a part of what was about to happen and retired to the bags which had been uploaded by the minibus driver and he had gone.

I was fuming. How was it we kept being put in absolutely ridiculous situations like this?



I read my book in the dark.


30 minutes later or so, eventually the guards decided they would allow the trucks back to the mud 200m up the road for unloading. Mel, Malcolm, Ian and Steve went with them so they could drive them back.
We waited for about an hour before they came back. They had unloaded the 4 cars without incident, and were ready to cross to Laos.

AT LAST!

By now it was between 9 and 10pm. We travelled the short distance to the Laos border, and started on the paperwork.
Visas were fine and we passed immigration fine (despite it being past closing time). Mel even managed to buy a visa on the boarder (having missed out on the advanced purchases in Singapore and Hanoi) for just $2 more than it would have cost normally.
However, the cars couldn't go through.

So close and yet so far.

We would be able to cross the border and come back in the morning... but there was simply no way we would be able to leave the cars there.
Sleeping in the cars it was then.

After a frenzy of packing and unpacking - what would we need? what wouldn't we need? everyone settled down to try get some shut eye.
I have to say it was the most uncomfortable attempt at sleep ever. Windows up to start it got unbearably hot. it was plus 30 deg outside and super humid. The windows got opened, but then the mozzies could get in. Alex faffed with a mozzy net over the door at about midnight.
It got even warmer, I woke from a brief nap and could just feel myself sweating. It was too much.
Even though the noise would be bad, I had to turn the car on to get the AC on.
I think I caught about 2 hours sleep in total. But i felt really sorry for Malcolm and Mel in the defender, Malcolm just hunched over the steering wheel. Apparently Ian had vetod the use of Ac in the night for fear of the guards getting frisky, but I wasn't to know, and was desperate for some relief from the heat and some shuteye.