On the move for 24 hours

From Cat Ba to Laos proved to be quite the ordeal. First, we took a van back to the harbor, where we sailed for about 2 hours until we made it back to the mainland.

We had lunch, then hopped on a bus which took us to Hanoi. Once there, we were ushered into a travel agent's office where we waited 10 minutes, until we were told we needed to walk a few blocks to meet our taxi (keep in mind that we were hauling all of our belongings, and it was rush hour).

Our taxi finally arrived and after some confusion, dropped us off at the bus station. Zoe and I were exhausted and our journey had only truly begun. Our bus left Hanoi around 7pm, and we made it to the Laos border around 5:30am. Immigration didn't start processing until 7, so we waited around slept.

When the office did open it was a slow, but steady process. I'd heard horror stories of 3 hour processing times, but it took 1.5 hours tops, to exit Vietnam, secure our visas for Laos, and be on our way.

We left the border, hopped back on the bus, and arrived in Vientiane around 5pm, a full 32 hours after we departed Cat Ba! 

Hanoi

From Hue, we took another bus further North to Dong Hoi. Dong Hoi was pleasant, but there is literally nothing to do but lay on the beach, which we were quite happy to do. After a few days of resting we purchased train tickets for Hanoi. After seven hours on a sleeper train we arrived in Hanoi, and it was every bit as busy and bustling as HCMC.

As soon as we stepped out of the train station we were bombarded by motorbike taxis, and after some stiff negotiating, got a ride to our hotel. While in Hanoi we explored the usual tourist sites. We were really excited to visit the HCM Mausoleum, even though I think its a bit weird to have a body permanently laid out for public viewing. Unfortunately the mausoleum is closed until December, for renovations. We did, however, get to visit the HCM Museum, as well as tour his former residence. I know that I was in Vietnam, so I wasn't exactly getting an unbiased opinion, but HCM seemed like an alright guy, and the people genuinely seem to like him.

Me and Uncle Ho

The Hoan Kiem Lake was another great attraction in Hanoi. It was always full of people dancing, exercising, and chatting. One night Zoe and I sat by the lake drinking, talking, and people watching. I also went for a run around the lake our last day in Hanoi.

Of course Hanoi had its share of historical war sites. We pretty much had our fill in HCMC so the only one we bothered to visit was the Hoa La Prison, bka "The Hanoi Hilton." This is the infamous prison where John McCain was kept, they have even kept the flight suit he was captured in. The prison was a bit funny, only because of its clear propagandist purpose. Multiple exhibits showed America and its harsh treatment of Vietnamese prisoners. Meanwhile, they have pictures of American soldiers playing basketball, celebrating Christmas, and generally looking like they were having a grand ole time. As despicable as I find McCain and his politics, I believe his version of Hanoi Hilton.

McCain's flight suit

All in all Hanoi was cool, but I think I liked HCMC a bit more. From Hanoi we decided to move on to Cat Ba, which was to be our last stop in Vietnam.