So after Hanoi, we decided to head down to central Vietnam. In an effort to save money - as we are trying to be as thrifty as possible – we decided to book an overnight bus to Hue instead of take the train…this turned out to be a very poor decision. We booked our bus through our hotel (everything is based off of commission there) and a taxi driver came to pick us up to take us to catch our bus. Our taxi ride was our first experience being a part of the traffic mayhem of Hanoi. We flew at high speeds through town, got honked at, nearly hit two pedestrians and watched our driver get screamed at through the window...he then proceeded to park us in the middle of the road blocking traffic while he casually got out of the car to grab more passengers and we got honked at and yelled at some more, then we finally made it across town to wait for our bus. Our bus finally showed up an hour to an hour and a half late and the “adventure” began.
We pushed and shoved our way to the door of the bus to get in and get our seats and the second we got on were literally slapped across the face with the most rancid, thick smell of stinky putrid feet. It was unlike anything I have ever smelled (in smell and in strength) and it didn’t ever dissipate. The reason for the terrible smell was because everyone was required to take their shoes off and put them in plastic bags when entering the bus. The bus was a “sleeper” bus, which basically meant there were three rows of bunk beds that stretched down the entire length of the bus…very small metal bunk beds.
(inside of the sleeper bus)
We grabbed our beds and realized that these were not beds made for people over 5’5”…poor Nathan smushed himself into the bed and proceeded to get bruises on his shins every time he switched positions because of the low metal shelf you had to squish your legs under. It was terribly uncomfortable and on top of the awful feet smell, the people next to us had bad gas, there was strong food smells and the toilet on the bus wasn’t flushing and the bathroom door kept swinging open…unbelievable. Oh yeah...and they blasted weird music videos on the tiny TVs throughout the bus which were just awful. I felt bad for the people who had to sleep right under the TVs...we were definitely thankful for our spots in the bus.
Well, we tried to get some shuteye despite the smell, the discomfort, the noise and the incessant honking, but about an hour into the trip, right as we were drifting off, the bus stopped at a rest stop and everyone got off to load up with more food. These rest stops are common and can last anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour. After who-knows-how-long we finally got back on the road and about 30 minutes later came to a screeching, skidding halt. We had no idea what had happened, but saw that there had been some sort of accident with a motorcycle. After more than TWO HOURS stopped on the side of the road, not really sure what had happened or why we had been stopped that long, we took off again…then turned around about 10 minutes down the road and went ALL the way back to the rest stop we had been at earlier that evening. It was so frustrating…we had barely gotten out of Hanoi and it had been at least 5 hours by this point. Once we got back to the rest stop, they started shuffling everyone off the bus, with no explanation, and had us all load onto a different bus that was not a sleeper bus (even though we had paid extra for one). We found out later it was because it was OUR bus who hit the motorcyclist and it had damaged our headlights!
(we are pretty sure the motorcyclist was okay)
So they loaded us all onto a new bus, along with all of the shipments and cargo the other bus had been carrying, so we had rice sacks and huge boxes piled up in the center aisle. At around 1am (6 hours after we left Hanoi) we finally took off for Hue. The bus was definitely less stinky and even a bit more comfortable, but our seats were broken and didn’t recline so the people in front of us were basically in our laps. The drive was terrible…one of those things where you watch the clock pass 2am, then 3am, then 4am and you're not even close to falling asleep and it just is so ridiculous you kind of have to laugh. It was so uncomfortable...we couldn’t sleep, it was loud and our driver honked all through the night, and to top it all off, the kid in the seat in front of us was puking into a plastic bag ALL night long…a lovely smell as well as a lovely sound. It was AWFUL.
We also discovered that one couple had been left behind at one of the rest stops during the middle of the night! Their bags were still on the bus but they were nowhere to be found…so terrible, I can’t imagine. Although…they might have had it better off than us in the end. We were originally supposed to be in Hue by 8am, but due to our accident, we figured it would probably be closer to 11am or even maybe noon. We were so wrong…our bus driver drove so incredibly slow it was laughable compared to how the rest of Vietnam drives, and we also stopped at rest stops, for over an hour each time, WAY too many times. We finally got to Hue at 3PM!! Seven hours late, it was ridiculous! I felt so bad for the people that were supposed to take the bus further into Hoi An (another 4 hours away). They all refused to go further because they just couldn’t stand to be in a bus any longer.
It was mayhem when we got to the tourist company in Hue. There were about 15-20 tourists who were livid about the whole experience and confronted the company to see if they could get a refund (yeah, right) since they paid for a sleeper bus and were put on a regular bus. They pretty much laughed in their faces and said it wasn’t their fault. When people yelled saying that it WAS their driver’s fault since he had apparently been driving extremely recklessly, she blamed it on the motorcyclist saying he had been drinking and that the accident “wasn’t her idea” so she couldn’t be held responsible. It was pretty funny to watch…we just sneaked away happy that we had a nice place to stay and then ordered room service and watched movies the rest of the day. It was great and although the bus ride was terrible, it was pretty laughable too…you just can’t have a trip like this without a crazy bus ride like that! And we made it, so that was good. ☺
We grabbed our beds and realized that these were not beds made for people over 5’5”…poor Nathan smushed himself into the bed and proceeded to get bruises on his shins every time he switched positions because of the low metal shelf you had to squish your legs under. It was terribly uncomfortable and on top of the awful feet smell, the people next to us had bad gas, there was strong food smells and the toilet on the bus wasn’t flushing and the bathroom door kept swinging open…unbelievable. Oh yeah...and they blasted weird music videos on the tiny TVs throughout the bus which were just awful. I felt bad for the people who had to sleep right under the TVs...we were definitely thankful for our spots in the bus.
Well, we tried to get some shuteye despite the smell, the discomfort, the noise and the incessant honking, but about an hour into the trip, right as we were drifting off, the bus stopped at a rest stop and everyone got off to load up with more food. These rest stops are common and can last anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour. After who-knows-how-long we finally got back on the road and about 30 minutes later came to a screeching, skidding halt. We had no idea what had happened, but saw that there had been some sort of accident with a motorcycle. After more than TWO HOURS stopped on the side of the road, not really sure what had happened or why we had been stopped that long, we took off again…then turned around about 10 minutes down the road and went ALL the way back to the rest stop we had been at earlier that evening. It was so frustrating…we had barely gotten out of Hanoi and it had been at least 5 hours by this point. Once we got back to the rest stop, they started shuffling everyone off the bus, with no explanation, and had us all load onto a different bus that was not a sleeper bus (even though we had paid extra for one). We found out later it was because it was OUR bus who hit the motorcyclist and it had damaged our headlights!
(we are pretty sure the motorcyclist was okay)
So they loaded us all onto a new bus, along with all of the shipments and cargo the other bus had been carrying, so we had rice sacks and huge boxes piled up in the center aisle. At around 1am (6 hours after we left Hanoi) we finally took off for Hue. The bus was definitely less stinky and even a bit more comfortable, but our seats were broken and didn’t recline so the people in front of us were basically in our laps. The drive was terrible…one of those things where you watch the clock pass 2am, then 3am, then 4am and you're not even close to falling asleep and it just is so ridiculous you kind of have to laugh. It was so uncomfortable...we couldn’t sleep, it was loud and our driver honked all through the night, and to top it all off, the kid in the seat in front of us was puking into a plastic bag ALL night long…a lovely smell as well as a lovely sound. It was AWFUL.
We also discovered that one couple had been left behind at one of the rest stops during the middle of the night! Their bags were still on the bus but they were nowhere to be found…so terrible, I can’t imagine. Although…they might have had it better off than us in the end. We were originally supposed to be in Hue by 8am, but due to our accident, we figured it would probably be closer to 11am or even maybe noon. We were so wrong…our bus driver drove so incredibly slow it was laughable compared to how the rest of Vietnam drives, and we also stopped at rest stops, for over an hour each time, WAY too many times. We finally got to Hue at 3PM!! Seven hours late, it was ridiculous! I felt so bad for the people that were supposed to take the bus further into Hoi An (another 4 hours away). They all refused to go further because they just couldn’t stand to be in a bus any longer.
It was mayhem when we got to the tourist company in Hue. There were about 15-20 tourists who were livid about the whole experience and confronted the company to see if they could get a refund (yeah, right) since they paid for a sleeper bus and were put on a regular bus. They pretty much laughed in their faces and said it wasn’t their fault. When people yelled saying that it WAS their driver’s fault since he had apparently been driving extremely recklessly, she blamed it on the motorcyclist saying he had been drinking and that the accident “wasn’t her idea” so she couldn’t be held responsible. It was pretty funny to watch…we just sneaked away happy that we had a nice place to stay and then ordered room service and watched movies the rest of the day. It was great and although the bus ride was terrible, it was pretty laughable too…you just can’t have a trip like this without a crazy bus ride like that! And we made it, so that was good. ☺
You did a remarkable job telling this story. So crappy that it was hilarious. I'm glad you treated yourself to room service and movies after what sounds like an insane, torturous trip. Also, you make me want to go to Asia. And I have a lot of friends who have gone to Asia but your descriptions are the most fascinating and wonderful.
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