We all know the saying and we all know how to say it, but boy, does it feel good saying it when you actually touch down in Vietnam!
We arrived on Wednesday 13th February via a quick one hour flight from Vientane, Laos after deciding against doing the 24 hour bus due to the consistent horrendous stories about said journey. Also, it being Tet (their new year) it would have been longer and slower and more expensive to be treated in whats sounds like a disgraceful manner by the bus companies. We heard the bus companies treat the western passengers like dogs, even though they have to pay more, they get the worst seats (infested with bugs, some of them), women are leered upon and during the border crossing you are ordered on and off the bus by angry shouting men in complete confusion. This after travelling for over 18hours. So I think you see our reasoning behind choosing the slightly more expensive, but indescribably easier option of an hour flight.
After landing we made our way to our guesthouse in Hanoi. And we were greeted by the crazy traffic of Vietnam.