Day 23 – Ninh Binh to Hanoi – Thursday March 24th 2011
Today was mine and Nic’s 7 year anniversary. We didn’t really celebrate it much. In fact, we spent most of the day travelling.
Our morning plans were rained off. Motorbikes or bicycles would be madness in this weather. We tried to book another car again, but they were fully booked due to the weather. Instead we got on a bus to get back to Hanoi.
The bus ride was gut crunchingly bumpy. It took about two hours to reach the bus station. Unsurprisingly Giap Bat bus station is nowhere near the centre of town, so we had to try and catch a local bus to the lake. We were so far from the centre of town that we were off the edge of our tourist map.
After much gesturing and map-pointing, Frank got the woman at the information desk to write down the bus number we needed, 08. We had just seen one drive off so had to wait for another. Loads of number 06 buses came and went.
A local teenage couple came over to help us, and one of them even went with us when our bus arrived. She even helped us buy tickets and then pointed out the lake when we got there. It took about 20 minutes.
Eventually back at David Guesthouse we booked and paid for a taxi at 6am tomorrow to take us to the airport. It cost $15 USD. Can’t wait to be back in Thailand!
Craving
I have just had a severe craving for Birds Eye Potato Waffles, Heinz Baked Beans and Ketchup. The Vietnamese food I have had seems to be much less tasty than Thai food.