And Finally Moving on to Vietnam
On to Vietnam:
My first day in Vietnam was not the best start to a new country, although it ended well. My morning began in Laos on a bus headed to Thanh Hoa, a town several hours south of Hanoi. The bus was small and cramped with no AC. I wasn't expecting much better, but low expectations can't erase the discomfort.
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| My trip went from eastern Lao near the Vietnamese border to Thanh Hoa, south of Hanoi |
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At lunch just across the border a few Vietnamese passengers included me in on their rice wine shots. The drinks didn't taste very good - a bit like vodka - but it was a really nice gesture. They didn't speak a word of English though (well hello and maybe goodbye). The drive through the highlands of Vietnam was also scenic, so that was a good counter to the cramped seating. Seriously the buses in SE Asia are not made for me. Or for anyone 6 foot plus. The Vietnamese may be comfortable in the seats, but I sure am not! It also doesn't help when the bus is crammed with 50% more people than seating capacity either.
By the time I arrived in Thanh Hoa it was around 6 pm. I was feeling tired and didn't want to transfer for the trip to Hanoi so I decided to look for a budget hotel. A moto driver at the station picked me up, but he didn't speak any English either (a common theme in Vietnam). When I said ATM he seemed to understand, and he gave me two fingers for the price quote. One US dollar is about 20,000 of their currency (crazy I know), so I was thinking he meant 20,000. Moto rides are quite cheap, and from what I read in the guidebook $1 could get you a short trip. As we were in a busy part of town, there was surely an ATM close by, so the price sounded fair.
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| These guys can live on their bikes! |
He took me to the ATM and I got my cash. I tried to get the message across that I wanted to find a hotel. He didn't understand the word, but I mimed a sleeping pose - you get to be pretty good at charades traveling in SE Asia - and thought he got the point. He kept saying a name, which I thought might be a hotel. Sometimes drivers can get commission for bringing tourists to certain hotels, or maybe he knew the owner. Either way I wasn't obligated to stay there, and at least I would get to a place that may have English speaking staff or a map handy.
He started driving - and driving - and driving, through the city and then a couple kilometers more. I saw a sign that had a word similar to what he had been saying, and it was another town some 14 kilometers away. I saw a hotel along the road and told him I wanted to stay there. He said no, he would take me to the other place (this is my best guess at what he was saying in Vietnamese given the situation). I said no, I want to get off here and literally had to pretend I would jump off just to get him to stop.
I was trying to get it across to him that I didn't want to go to the other town. He either didn't get it or was being stubborn, so I made it clear that I wasn't going with him anymore and would just walk back to the town center. I asked how much for the one way journey out of my way, and he said 200,000 Vietnamese Dong (great name for a currency, huh?).
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| Think 20.000 is a lot of money? Think again! |
There was no way I was paying him $10 for a few kilometers on a moto. Tourists generally pay more than locals, but that trip should have been no more than a few dollars. And $10 may not seem like much, but in Vietnam that is a lot of money for a driver. I tried to give him 100,000, which was also too much in my opinion but I was willing to just be done with the situation for that price. He kept asking for 200,000, but I refused.
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| getting angry isn't going to get you far, try to keep your cool! |
Luckily a foreign guy and Vietnamese woman were diving past, saw us arguing, and stopped to help. As it turned out the man didn't speak much English, just German. A chance to use my German! I explained the situation as best I could, and the Vietnamese woman worked it out so that he would drive me back into the city. They actually owned a guesthouse, so she offered to take me there.
For the return journey I ended up paying a total of 150,000, or about $7. That's still a bit overpriced but not ridiculous like the $10 one-way he was trying to get. He also told the woman that he had informed me he was driving me to the other town for 500,000 Dong ($25)! It may have been 14 kilometers away but there is no way it would cost that much, and we hadn't even discussed the total cost. If I had known that price before we set out of course I would have said no. The language difficulty contributed to the situation, but it seemed pretty clear that he was trying to take me for as much money as he could. Needless to say I was in a foul mood after the incident.
Luckily the night ended better than it started. The German man and Vietnamese women who bailed me out had a nice guesthouse for me. Their family, including twin baby grandchildren, lived next door. The babies didn't really know what to think of me. They were shy at first but still more comfortable with me since they already knew another foreigner. Definitely better than the babies that cried upon seeing my white face!
A couple pics of the kiddies:
The Vietnamese woman cooked dinner for us (free of charge) and I got to practice my German with her husband. We chatted a bit more over breakfast the following morning, but it wasn't long until I had to catch a bus to Hanoi. I enjoyed the time with their family, but there really aren't any more reasons to stay in Thanh Hoa. On to Hanoi!
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