Back at Hanoi

Got back to Hanoi in one piece. Stopped off at the same tourist trap to have lunch, which was at tourist prices, but still cheap compared to home.

The only new reflection from the very slow trip back to paradise 1 is the vietnamese predilection for bridges.  If they're not half finishing them, they're sitting under them on scooters. There was one massive cantilevered bridge spanning a wide river that stopped at one end over shadowing a small town.  The other end was 30 m in the air and a series of concrete piers trailed off towards the horizon holding up nothing but weeds.
You have to wonder at the design decisions for that. Hey we need a new bridge. That looks like a good spot start from this bank...done. Oh where did that village come from?
We can't force the proletariat from their hovels, cancel the bridge.

Much to our chagrin, our faith in the chaotic perfection of the vietnamese road system has taken a beating. We saw our first accident. Now we know they can happen we're all that little bit more concious of bad driving. It's like finding half way through your rollercoaster ride that the Evil Hood has loosened all the bolts.

We were treated to evening rush hour on the way back. It was a lot more frightening due to the knowledge of impending disaster and the less dynamic nature of the morning rush hour.

We got back to paradise 1 at about 4pm for a freshen up before heading off to the station for the first class sleeper to Sapa in the north. Decided to reload the suitcases so we only had three to carry around.

Headed off for dinner, serenaded by a guy selling his own music, pushing along a cart with amplifier and speakers. Kyra's orders, definitely no shopping as we need to get finished and onto the train.

So after we drag kyra out of her second shop, she consulted the latest edition of the lonely planet for suitable restaurants. The first two no longer existed.  We ended up at the butterfly where the waiter knew six languages, but hadn't heard of the UN.

On the way to the restaurant (for our most expensive meal so far, a cool 1 mil) we pass a series of shops. In no particular order:

The things that hang round your neck shop
The wallet and belt shop
The belt and wallet shop
The belt shop (it was a lot smaller)
The sparkly things that hang round your neck shop
The wooly hat and mens shirt shop
The puffy jacket and blouse shop
The fake sports clothing shop
The pyjama shop
The shorts and t shirt shop
The nappy shop
The baby washing shop
Best Mum - which is a clothes shop and nothing to do with babies
The mens shoe shop
The slutty girls clothes shop
The beaded curtain and rug shop
The rope shop
The thongs on a trolly lady
The girls shoe shop
About 16 xmas shops all in a row. I'd love to know what they sell for the rest of the year.
The washing powder shop
The strange chinese boxes shop
The handbag and bowl shop
The reject toys from china shop (they sell all those toys with parts unsuitable for small children)
The big sacks of things shop.
And a second sellotape shop (who'd have thought).

So why was the meal so expensive? Well partly due to the two glasses of rocket fuel (photo attached) - less than 2 dollars for five shots and some dulux paint - you boys got ripped off with just two beers each.

Being a continental european, Ron was able to clearly identify the secret ingredient in the rocket fuel as Smurf spunk (second photo).

Finally we picked up our bags from paradise 1 and had a hair raising ride to the station with a couple of taxis that were determined to tailgate each other all the way to the station despite all the other traffic.

We were rushed through the station to our awaiting first class carriage (can't use the toilet while at the station). It was a little smaller than expected, but far better than the cattle class.