Refugees on the buses

The arty shot - Tiger Balm sold by hawkers on the beach in Hoi An

I'm afraid this is going to turn into a bit of a moan... but Steve says it makes things more entertaining - so we'll see...

I don't think two weeks was enough time to do Vietnam, given our need to travel overland to Cambodia. We found ourselves as virtual refugees, having spent a maximum of two nights in any one place, and that only three times. Despite our best efforts we couldn't get onto the railway system at all.

I don't know whether we've had bad luck, not given Vietnam a proper go or just not had enough time here. We're both looking forward to leaving after two weeks of more or less constant annoyance, disappointment and illness.

Perhaps our experiences can be summed up by the bus journeys we've taken (NB all our travel in Vietnam has been by bus or for short distances, motorbike taxi). Steve would describe this in a much funnier way but he's currently in bed with one ailment or another (more on that later) so I'll try my best.

The first bus from Hanoi to Ninh Binh I've already described as taking an hour to exit the station due to lack of bus station management, as far as I can see.

The second bus was a sleeper bus run for tourists (The Open Bus). It ran overnight. We were ushered on board and our berths pointed out. They were top bunks so I put my bag on the bunk and contemplated how to climb up for approximately 3 seconds, but before I had a chance to climb the attendant returned and angrily told me to climb up NOW. Later, at a 2am stop, after shivering under the icy air con in our shorts and t shirt Steve dared to get off the bus and ask to get his bag from under the bus so he could retrieve a fleece. On the bus I could hear the standoff. "I want my bag!" he said repeatedly as they acted dumb to obvious sign language. Then "What are you going to do? Drive off?" Eventually the driver realised he'd met his match and Steve got his wish.

Then we took a bus from Danang on the coast to Kon Tum, in the Highlands. The scenery was great, climbing through paddy fields and forest. The only buses to Kon Tum from Danang are minibuses. In the UK it would be a 16 seater, including the driver, allowing an aisle for accessing the rear seats. In Vietnam they fold down seats in the aisle for greater capacity, allowing a total of 19 seats. On this journey 5 people were packed onto each 4 seat row, allowing a total of 23 people on board, plus 6 crates of cheeping chicks and assorted luggage. 3 guys were sat in the seats next to the chicks, I thought that meant they owned them, and they found the repeated use of the word "chick-gun" the funniest thing ever. But then they got off without the chicks so we never found out who owned them in the end - the bus company maybe! My neighbour (a mercifully skinny young guy) sat on me for 5 hours.

Gift-wrapped motorcycle tyres in Vietnam

In Kon Tum we were delighted to see a Vietnamese pot-bellied pig rooting around.

Vietnamese pot-bellied pig - spotted in Kon Tum

From Kon Tum we took the short bus to Quy Nhon where we hit the beach for the evening. It was untouristy and some students stopped to practise their English with us. The waves were cool too - probably my beach highlight in Vietnam. We went to the station to buy a rail ticket to Nha Trang or Ho Chi Minh city but were told there were none available whatsoever for two days! Even in China you can buy standing tickets on the trains and they certainly have no qualms about having people standing on minibuses so we were pretty bemused by this... so back on the buses...

Then came the bus journey from hell. From Quy Nhon to Nha Trang is about a 5 hour journey. We did it non-stop, with at one stage 30 people in the 16 seater minibus. As we set off with the conductor in the boot, and 5 people to each 4 person aisle making 23 passengers in total Steve said "At least we won't be stopping to pick people up." Famous last words. Not only did we stop to pick people up, we stopped to pick up luggage that hadn't arrived yet. At one point we waited for 20 minutes on the roadside with the engine running, all 28 passengers on the bus (we were not invited to exit) while the driver and conductor lounged around on the roadside waiting for some guy to turn up with a package they were evidently awaiting.




The bus journey from hell - at this point 30 people in the 16 seater

At no point in the 320km, 5 hour journey did we stop for a toilet break, a fact which given my condition was torment. A young couple in front of us vomited into bags then chucked the bags out of the window: no chance of stopping for that either.

At peak capacity we had:

• 3 people standing in the boot (max capacity = 0)
• 5 people on the back seat (max capacity = 4)
• 5 people on a middle seat (max capacity = 3)
• 5 people on another middle seat (max capacity = 3)
• 4 people on the front row (max capacity = 3)
• 3 people semi-standing hovering by door (max capacity = 0)
• 5 people in the front seat (including driver and conductor standing in driver seat) (max capacity = 3)

Luckily for us we were on the least crowded back row. I think the Vietnamese ushered us there to spare us the worst torment. The poor guys standing near the door (you can just see them to the right of the photo) couldn't even stand up straight.

On our final bus (so far) from Nha Trang to Ho Chi Minh City we stopped for lunch at Mui Ne and the bus started driving off without us after curtailing our lunch break. I had to run into the road to stop it.

The walking wallets of Vietnam - how tourists are seen

The other major problem we've had in Vietnam is sickness. Sparing everyone the gory details the usual travellers diarrhoea turned into something more serious in Nha Trang and I had to go to the doctor - fortunately he spoke good English and after tests diagnosed amoebic dysentery and salmonella. I'm drugged up to the eyeballs and have felt rotten for a week so far, and now Steve is bed-ridden too. I'm just hopeful he's only got a cold, not my nastiness. So we've done precious little exploring: at least three days have been spent feeling sorry for myself.

In Ho Chi Minh City we have braved the crowds and visited the Cu Chi tunnels which are well worth it - a network of 200km+ of small (1m high) tunnels carved out of clay by the Viet Cong and which sheltered them from US attack during the Vietnam War. You get to crouch-walk along the tunnels which is a claustrophobic experience, at one point you need to crawl and it's difficult to turn. It would be easy to panic, but it was a bit like being on a motorbike taxi: if you think too much about the fact you're on the back of a speeding motorcycle behind someone you don't know braving Vietnamese traffic that never gives way, wearing shorts and a t-shirt and a helmet that doesn't fit or cover your neck you'd panic: but you just have to get on with it.

A tight fit at the Cu Chi Tunnels. Good job I'd just had dysentery.

We're moving on tomorrow: The Mekong Delta and Cambodia beckon.