Victoria Travels - Phlew....

So after confusing the check-in staff at Hong Kong airport that I had a ticket to another country (she eventually thought I was going by boat to Singapore from Vietnam, though she just really gave up asking me questions) I managed to get on the plane to Vietnam. Of course at Hanoi, they didn't care whether I had an onward ticket or not.  I decided to get the airport bus into Hanoi - about an hours journey - it only leaves once it's full. After sitting around for about 45 mins the bus was full and the driver collected the money. This was were is began. I can't remember the exact amount, but lets say the bus was $2 (about 30,000dong). I only had a 100,000dong note...hey thats all the notes the atm gave me. I knew the price of the fare as I had asked at the information counter. I waited until everyone else had paid so the driver would have change. I gave him the note. He didn't look like he was going to give me any change. I stared at him and put my hand out. He gave me some notes. I continued to stare and waited til he gave me some more. He didn't give me all the change I was expecting but I lost such a small amount it wasn't worth the hassle of causing a row. Then we headed off to Hanoi. I had a printout of the location of where my hostel was located and luckily in Vietnam pretty much all streets have signposts and if not, then the buildings all have the street address written on them. So I started to recognise streetnames when we got close to the last bus stop. I tried to explain to the other 2 tourists on the bus that perhaps we should now get off - all the vietnamese had left - but they didn't know the address of their hotel. That is not a good thing in Vietnam, especially Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City! But by this time some guy had got onto the bus with us and closed the door and said the driver would take us where we wanted to go. Yeah, right. I said I wanted to get off, but the bus had started moving and this guy was very definite that the driver would take me to my hotel....... yeah...until we past the cathedral where my hostel was, and the lake.... I pointedly said this is not where my hotel is and the guy knew I was following my map. I said it was back there. Eventually we stopped somewhere and he told the other 2 that we were at their hotel. We were NOT at their hotel! But they got off and took their bags. I hope they were ok! Anyway, I was now told the driver would take me close to my hotel, the door was closed and I was left to try to explain where I wanted to go, to a driver who didn't speak english. Managed to get him to take me back to the last bus stop since I could walk from there. Of course once I got off, I was surrounded by touts asking me did I need a hotel. One of them even had the business card of the place I was staying at. But thankfully I wasn't tired enough by this stage to fall into that trap. I just kept saying I had a place and was meeting my friends and I knew where I was going, as I walked off down the straight. On reaching the hostel it was so nice to be met by a friendly happy Michael - one of the aussies who own the place. And it was BBQ night.
 
And thats how I arrived in Vietnam!