One of the low points that led to my friend shaking his head in disbelief was when I told him
about the time in Vietnam when I thought my bladder would explode. My travel mate and I had
booked a sleeper bus from Hanoi to Hue. Our other options were the train or a plane - the bus being
the cheapest and, as we were told, the most comfortable. The bus driver instructed us to be ready to
be picked up by the bus at 6:00 PM on the night of our trip. After a night spent in Halong Bay, my
travel mate and I were ready for the pick up at 5:00 PM. We got something to eat - a couple of bowls
of noodles and some local lagers (i.e. Bia Hoi is what it's called colloquially - "bia" a pidginization of
"beer" and "hoi" being "gas") to kill some time. 6:00 PM rolled around and still no bus. The guy at the
hotel desk assured us that the bus was on its way. We waited. 6:30 PM came and went. We started to
worry a little. He again said that we would be picked up soon. 7:00 PM and still nothing. The guy at
the hotel desk said that we would make our bus. Finally at around 7:30 PM, a little shuttle bus
packed with non-Vietnamese travelers swung by. We asked if this incredibly small vehicle was going
to take us all the way to Hue, knowing that the trip would be, well, overnight. The shuttle driver said
he was going to take
us to the outskirts of
town where we would
transfer to the
overnight bus. After a
few more pick up
stops, we were indeed
delivered to the edge
of Hanoi. We were
greeted by really
pissed off men who
screamed at us. I
couldn't understand
their words, but
judging from their
frantic demeanor, I
can reasonably
conclude that they
were verbally pelting
By Ecow, via Wikimedia Commons
us with obscenities for being tardy. They threw our luggage into the belly of the bus and bullied us
into scrambling into the bus, not unlike hostages being herded by their captors. We complied, only to
see that there were no seats available.
I think this is a good time to describe the sleeper busses in Vietnam. Basically the seats on these
busses have been replaced by beds. There are two levels of these beds and they are in rows of three two on each side of the bus and one row in the middle. The beds are like sleds. You lay reclined, so
that the feet of the person behind you is under your head. Google "sleeper bus Vietnam" and look at
the images if my words are failing you).
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THE CONE - ISSUE #5 - SUMMER 2015