Laid back Hanoi, busy Saigon

Hanoi will seem quite chaotic to many first-timers arriving into the capital but the streets in the old Quarter are surprisingly very well organised - you find a street full of shops selling all kind of shoes, from $1 slippers to the latest sneakers, street selling the latest movies in DVD for only £1, or if you are hungry, hunt down the street where it is lined with roadside stalls selling dried cuttlefish, grilled in the most delicious crispy form. Head over to Hoàn Kiếm Lake at first light or evenings and join the locals in their morning exercises as the sun glitters over the water.

I sampled some really good and cheap Vietnamese food at cosy Little Hanoi 1 (recommended by Lonely Planet), and enjoyed getting lost in the maze of streets that all looked the same in the Old Quarter. Avoid the night food market that is highlighted in guidebooks as the prices can be 2 to 3 times more expensive for foreigners than what you get elsewhere, and they are not necessarily better. Walking or motorbikes are the best form of transport as the city is relatively small and you can explore all the little sidewalks where the cars are unable to get to easily. If you are a coffee lover, make sure you try the Viet coffee, not really to my taste, but you might immediately fall in love with it. I especially like buying the different kinds of tropical fruits peddled by the hawkers on bicycles at incredible cheap prices, and eating so much till I ended up having stomachache on both days. The only disappointment was not seeing the Vietnamese women in the traditional gown called ao dai, which always seem so graceful and elegant in pictures, together with wooden hat.

Paid 1.3million Dong for a upper soft sleeper bed on the Reunification Express, the price partly inflated by the commission charged by the hostel, meaning it is definitely a better idea to get the tickets directly at the train station, or check with the hundreds of tour agencies dotted around the city. The locals mentioned that domestic flying can be as cheap as $50 one way to Saigon but have also heard about stories about the flying experience. For me, it was always only gonna be one option, by land, meaning either I take the historical rail slowly humming along the coast to the south or go cheap by taking one of the hundreds of open tour buses on offer that takes you from Hanoi to almost anywhere south. The thought of experiencing a train journey holding the world record of the slowest speed for a railway proves too much to turn it down, which I am sure some of you must have immediately rolled your eyes immediately at this point!

Settled into a compartment with an elderly couple and their grandson, as well as another bloke who joined us on one of the stations along the way. Amenities were bare minimal, so don't expect too much. The conditions for the hard sleeper (6 berth) and sitting were alot "tougher", but I am sure they are just fine after you get used to it like what the locals do. There is a restaurant cart which serves rather nice Viet food at very affordable prices, as long as you ignore the local habits of throwing bones and leftovers on the floor.



The green padi fields along the way seem like a world lost in time, with farmers still using water buffalo to plough their fields and move harvested grain. Occasionally, the train goes pretty close to the coast and smell the fresh sea breeze from the South China Sea, making one feel like jumping into the glistering waters immediately. The 30 hours journey seem like forever, not helped by a kid that was getting restless and was constantly throwing tantrums. Mr Obama's first autobiography was a big help to passing time, and was very impressed with the book.

Arrived in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) late and found a guesthouse along Pham Ngu Lao area for $8. As this area is packed with guesthouses (there are no hostels in this city), one can see travelers enjoying a beer at the many pubs and roadside stalls. The city definitely looked far busier than the capital in the north. Booked a bus into Siem Reap the next morning for $16 after checking around the many travel agents in the area, enjoyed a nice local Pho Bo and strolled around the area before turning in for the night.