We made it to Vietnam

Well, I made it to Vietnam. There were a lot of things working against us, including but not limited too: confusion with Vietnamese Visas, sold out bus tickets, bad directions, etc. But we worked through all of the problems (we bought a ticket two hours from the border and took another bus from there) and we made it to Vietnam. Right now I am at an internet cafe in a border town waiting for our train to depart. So far Vietnam has been good though. No one stares at you and you talk to people in English instead of using hand gestures and broken Chinese. So no complaints. We have been on the go now since the evening of the 5th and everything has gone well. I will continue to keep you updated with good stories and memorable events. Here is one for starters...We arrrived to the bus station last night only to find that all but two of the tickets to our destination were sold out. We made Suzie talk with the lady and she found out we could take a bus to a small town and then take another bus from there, although we had no idea what time the bus would leave from the town. So we decided, why not, and went for it (only after we were sure it was actually on the way). But the best part of this story is the sleeper bus. Let's just say that Chinese Sleeper buses make for experiences that no one over 175 cm (5'10") should ever have to endure. I fit in my "bed," but barely. If you picture a mummy laying down, that was me. Arms crossed, feet flush against the foot of the bed and no room to move left or right. We were all in top bunks and just laid there laughing for the first hour of the trip. I was just happy to be on the next leg to Vietnam and to be moving because everyone had taken there shoes off to lay down and it was smelling a little bit. But the story ends well. We got off our bus, bought tickets and got on another bus and were on our way to the border-only a 15 minute layover, couldn't have worked better if we planned it. Of course Chinese minibuses are a whole new expierence. If you are on a minibus through rural China you can usually expect three things: really bumpy roads (check), a lot of cigarette smoke (check), and some great views (check). We traveled over mountains covered in banana tree farm forests. And viewed other amazing mountains through the morning fog. Not bad, not bad. T-minus 5.5 hours until our departure to Hanoi.