Hanoi yet again (17/2/14)

The bus arrived in Hanoi about half 5 so a smidge longer than 9 hours. But this was probably better as more of Hanoi would be open when I arrived. I got off the bus smelling of something awful and having only partly slept so I was a bit groggy too. We were about 6km from the centre of Hanoi where the hostel was. The others got onto a smaller bus to be taken to the lake in the centre and I waited for my bike to be unloaded and the half a tank of fuel I had in there put back in. "OK" they said "thank you". No fuel. Apparently that's not part of the deal. They keep that. So I'm now somewhere I don't know with a thimble full of fuel and it's dark and raining. I get some sort of directions to somewhere, not sure what he's saying, and leave the bus park pushing my bike. I pull the brake lever to slow down and it does nothing. Having spent so long on its side in the bus, my front brake has lost all pressure. I can't ride even if I had fuel. A few metres down the road a Vietnamese bloke stops on his moped and says something in Vietnamese pointing towards the road. I'm guessing I'm not supposed to be pushing the bike on the pavement. I start to push it in the road and he shouts some more. I decide to ask him where fuel is. Pointing at my page of translations, I've been given by the bike company, I ask him where to find fuel. He points ahead then left and holds up 7 fingers. This must mean it's 700m after the next left. Surely. Or maybe 7 minutes. I thank him and start to push, he shouts more. In the end I realise he wants me to get on the bike and he'll push me along by hand, using his bike, to the petrol station. That's nice I thought. We get to the petrol station I put some fuel in and he holds his 7 fingers up again. Penny drops. He wants 70,000 dong for helping me. Not so nice I thought. Still, it's only 2 quid and I did get there quicker and I wouldn't have found it otherwise. Lesson learnt. So got fuel and then had to get to the centre. Naturally this is when my phone battery ran out and my spare was at the bottom of my bag. I knew roughly the direction and I was only 10 minutes away from the lake so tried to use a map. An hour later I arrived at the hostel! The only up side is because of the journey time the pressure to my front brake returned and I didn't have to go slow and rely on just the back one. But that gave the traffic time to pick up and get crazy busy. I just couldn't find any road names on the map and had to ask for directions. I got told, via google translate, that my map, from the tourist information centre, was quite old. Of course. Anyway arrived at about 7, put my bike into the storage place I'd used before and checked in but couldn't get into the room till 1 and so went to chill in the social room till then, still stinking. Bumped into Marc who had been there an hour and told him what had happened. Of course he laughed. Phone charged, hangover 2 and jango unchained watched on the big TV and a snooze under my belt, I went downstairs to see about the room and got my key. Kit in the locker, and shower. Soooooooo nice. I love hot water.
Fresher and awake I went out to enquire about halong bay trips and decided the one through the hostel was my best bet. It was just under 100 quid. I may have payed a bit more than necessary but they knew the quality of it and the boat looked really nice and it was what I wanted to pay for the 2 day 1 night trip. And it wasn't an all out booze cruise, which just seemed pointless to me. I wanted to remember it. Trip payed for I went out to play the haggling game and buy swimming shorts and a smaller holdall than my rucksack, as I didn't want to take everything with me. And that way I could leave the rest in the hostel secure storage for free. I spent the afternoon wandering around all the streets in the old quarter getting lost in the atmosphere, noise and activity of the shops and stalls making their sales. Dropped my purchases off to my bed and went to the motorbike place to get some bits on the bike sorted while I'm away and to discuss my route south. I got a high five when I told my story about dodging six policemen and not stopping. Here's what the motorbike place is going to do or has done for me. Oil change, check the front brake, repair seat pivot as the seat now comes off in my hand when I refuel, fit another mirror as apparently only having one is illegal, sort the horn as it now doesn't really work and it's the most important part of the bike when riding in the city, try and get the odometer to work, store the bike,  planned my journey south, book the train ticket south for me and the bike and get the bike on the train Wednesday afternoon before I return and get me to the train station for the 7pm departure Wednesday night. Of course I'll have to pay for most of the bike bits and the train tickets but that is well above the call of duty. I can't recommend them enough. It seems that two weeks to ride the whole way to Saigon is pushing it and doesn't leave much time to see places so I'm getting the train to dong hai and doing what I can from there. I really want to stop in hoi an and relax while my suit is made so this is a much better option. All that organised I'm back at the hostel in time for happy hour, two for one on beers, and bump into Marc. He's just heading off to a self cook bbq restaurant with a bunch of Germans he's just met and I'm invited along. Beers drunk we head off. The idea at the restaurant is basically you all gather round a table, a couple of cooking stoves in the middle, hot plate on top with foil and a mound of meat and veg that you cook yourself with oil. Its a good social idea and I met a load of new people but there wasn't really enough food. So we decide to head off somewhere else to get more. As we're leaving a couple of girls walk past who get chatting to us and decide to join us. Me, Marc and the girls walk off to another recommended place assuming the others are following but they're not. We wait, signal to them but they don't come so now it's just us 4. We get to the other place, I have another meal but the girls aren't impressed with the food. So we head off to a third restaurant and the girls and Marc order a pizza and I'm on the beer. Turns out one girl is Dutch and the other is from lewisham. Had a good evening chatting between us all and went back to the hostel slightly tipsy. I head up to the room as I still need to pack for tomorrow and I'm up early to catch the bus. Into bed and find out that I have THE noisiest room mates going. Not talking just doing things. Moving in bed requires jumping. Bags need to be dropped from the top bunk. The room has an electronic lock and people forget their fobs so muggins here is by the door and is now doorman when they knock. The girl in the bed next to me is unbelievably noisy. And then cherry on the cake I headbutt the small lockable box on the wall above my bed. Shit that hurts. I still manage to get some sleep though. Or I pass out from the injury. I'm unsure which.

In the photo Marc is on my left, the Chinese girl is  from Paris, the guy with the glasses is a Dutch doctor and everyone else is German. The rest of the group are on a different table. It's a good crowd.