I've been away from the UK now for a week now but it feel likes longer! Not because I miss it (because I don't, not yet anyway) but because we have been so busy and done so much.
Our last day in Nanning we decided to go see the shops and have a look around. We felt like celebrities. In the shops the young shop assistants followed us around giggling every time we looked at them. People were taking pictures as we passed. A man even reached out and grabbed our arm as if to see if we were actually real. Normally if a guy in the street grabbed me I would be scared but this guy seemed absolutely fascinated and harmless and just wanted a closer look at our skin. We went to the supermarket to stock up on food for the journey to Vietnam. We spent about 60RMB (about 6 pounds) and got about a weeks worth of food.
We left Nanning on Monday on another sleeper train. This journey was much more pleasant. For starters it wasn't as busy, only about 20 people. But we also had bottom bunks and lots of food. When we got to the station we were sat in the crowded waiting room when we found some fellow Europeans. We were both as shocked as each other to spot fellow foreigners. We got talking and they were sisters from Austria who were also heading to Hanoi. It was nice to have some company on the train and they gave us some great advise for when we go to Shanghai. We didn't get much sleep on the train. When leaving China we all had to get off the train with our luggage. Once back on we again stopped at the Vietnamese border to have our passport checked. By the time we got on the train it was about 1 in the morning. We were meant to get into Hanoi at 8am. We got woken up about 4:30am and at 5:30 the train stopped. We'd arrived in Hanoi way before we had expected to and it was dark.
For the first hour here, I hated Hanoi and I was ready to leave. We got off the train and the first problem we faced was that we had no local money. We walked out of the station and it looked like we were in the middle of no where. We are greeted by many taxi drivers who were desperate to take us to our hostel. We decided we would wait at the station until it got a bit lighter and most probably safer. We knew we had to get a taxi to the hostel and that it would cost us about 80,000 dong but we had no money. There were two taxi drivers that would not leave us alone and finally one of them gave up and walked away but not before kicking me! We waited in the waiting room at the station and the taxi driver waited with us for about half an hour. The taxi driver said that he would take us to an ATM but we didn't really trust him. Eva and Anna (our Austrian friends) had some dollars so we decided to ask the taxi driver if he would take dollars. He was willing but wanted $20. The journey should have cost us $3/4 so there was no way we were going to pay $20. After much haggling he agreed to take us for $5. We managed then to get some money out and find our hostel. Once I got settled in and relaxed I felt so much better and I was able to enjoy the city.
Despite all the tourists, after one day I love Hanoi already. It's like nothing else I've ever experienced. There are thousands of motorbikes and no crossings. Crossing the road involves just taking a leap of faith and stepping out into the street and all the vehicles just drive around you. I will have to write more about Hanoi when I get the chance. We are planning on setting off for a 3 day trip to Halong Bay this weekend, spending one night on a junk boat. I can't wait!
[Edit: Pictures added 17/08/11 from the first day in Hanoi]
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