Sapa to Yuanyang

I didn't sleep that great last night, but decided (despite still feeling a bit queasy), that I'd head off to China. I'd read so many bad reports about the bus to Kunming that I'd decided to break the journey up and go to Yuanyang instead - and it's turned into a really great adventure.

But first - getting out of Vietnam - the experience really sums up everything that's wrong with the place...

It takes almost one and a half hours to do the 35km to the border gate. The first half of the journey, we're being driven around Sapa by a mad man whose desperate to get as many people in the bus as he can. He looked like he was on drugs, because he couldn't sit still, his eyes were all over the place, and he talked really loudly - well - shouted.

I'm feeling really sick at this point, but thankfully another guy was driving us to Lao Cai and the border down the small mountain road with steep drop offs and no guard rail. Except - they didn't want to take us to the border because it was a bit further than the station - even though some of us had already paid extra to get there. I think he wanted even more money - which is no surprise.

There was an Australian couple on the bus with me, and when the three of us refused to get out at the station, he drove us towards the border and then tried to get us to get out at a tour company. They probably had rip off coach prices for the China buses.

We refused to get out, and after a short stand off, he finally drove us to the border. When we get there, a guy says he'll change money for us, but it's at only half the official rate - and then gets pretty cross when we won't change money.

We get in the Vietnamese border office, and despite there being loads of officials hanging around, no one wants to deal with us. Eventually, we manage to get one of the immigration people to sign us out, but it takes ages...

Then we walked across to the bridge to China...

...and everything changes. The guards are really well presented, and are smiling, and help people to go into the right queue. Everything is really efficient, and it doesn't take long for us to get signed in. No hassle - no problems. You even get to say how good or bad the service was by selecting smiley or sad faces on a machine!!!

When we walk out of the building into China, there's zero hassle. A guy even points out the way to the bus station. What a contrast...

I think Vietnam would make a great holiday destination, when you've got a couple of weeks and want to do a tour of the main sites. But as a travel destination - it's been a total disappointment. Of all the countries I've visited so far it's at the very bottom of the list, by a long way.

The sad thing is - it's got some great stuff to see: Hue, Hoi An, Hanoi, Phong Nha, the DMZ. All worth a visit. And a few of the people I've met have been incredibly friendly and helpful. I'm thinking of David in Dalat, the hotel people in Hoi An and Dong Hoi, the students I met in Saigon, and Sea in Sapa.

Vietnam is the most money grabbing place I've ever been to. People just want money ("you give me dollah") and that's about the long and short of it. You get constant hassle from the minute you step out of the hotel to the moment you get back to it. And it seems that there are plenty of people who are as happy to scam money from you as they are to earn it honestly. One foreign investor in the country (he runs a small chain of restaurants) said that people are only interested in making money today - no interest in customer service or repeat business - it's the dollar today that counts. Which kind of sums it up.

I've only ever been scammed once on a trip - and a kid managed to get the equivalent of five pence out of me in Morocco. But in Vietnam - there's a scam at every corner.

For me, the best thing about Vietnam is the new friends I've made, and the trip to Phong Nha stands out as one of the more memorable places I've ever been.

I think I'd better leave it at that (rant officially over :-)

Anyway, back at Hekou in China, we meet a great guy at the bus station who speaks perfect English, and he exchanges our money for more than the official visa rate, and helps us buy bus tickets. Because the others are going to Kunming their bus leaves before mine, and I spend forty minutes chatting with the guy at the bus station.

The bus ride to Yuanyang was long, because of the state of the road, but the scenery was incredible. I've found a great hotel to stay in, for four pounds fifty a night, and ate a great meal in the market for one pound sixty!!!

Just looking forward to getting out and about tomorrow for a look around.