Tap into Laos- the intrepid tour part 1

Met up with the group and had a group dinner- our tour guide is really lovely SO much better than our Vietnamese one!
The next day Me and Laura (my new roommate) decided we should sightsee in Hanoi abit before we left so we got up earlyish and caught a taxi to the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum- managed to get in after a load of security checks and I got randomly sent to the back of the line as I had a rucksack (even tho other people did) and we kept being told off for walking in the wrong place- those guards were SERIOUS control freaks... Ho Chi Minh did look like something out of Madame Tussauds- definitely worth a look- it was so strange! Also caught a cyclo to the Hoa Lo prison and had a look in the Ho Chi Minh museum (tho we lost interest in that very quickly- have never been a great fan of museums!) Then we got on the bus to Vinh which was abit of a dead town- especially as it was Tet...
Then it was a long bus ride over the border to Vientianne, Laos... the morning got off to a bad start as we both fell back to sleep after the alarm went off but thankfully the hotel was running on "asia time" so breakfast was 40mins late- so luckily we got away with it. Breakfast was gross tho as there was fried rice... not something I can usually stomach in the morning! The journey was really scenic over a mountain pass- the contrast once you crossed the border was eyeopening and it became hot again!- so my winter coat is now safely tucked away in my bag- am missing it!
We had an orientation walk in which we visited a temple, victory gate (which seriously reminded me of the Arc de Triumphe in Paris) and looked round a market which had an awesome food court. We then hired bikes and rode round the nearby villages- and even ended up cycling through a farmers field in an attempt to find the river! We then went back through town (bumping into the Scandanavian bakery where we brought a HUGE plate of cakes to satisfy my sweet tooth!) and cycled along the Mekong- we watched the sunset from a bar (which was SO pretty) Cycling the bikes back in the dark was definitely interesting... 3 of us then went out partying(!) and bumped into a randomer callled Matthew who I invited out with us. He led us to the rooftop bar (THE place to be!) abn then once the bar closed at midnight we went to "the palace" till the early hours of the morning, which shouldn't have legally been open! It was strange as we arrived at this hotel and it looked like nothing was happening, until we were directed to the 3rd floor where there was a techno disco going on! oOoh and I also managed to find the pancake man twice... mmmmm (there are street sellers around who will make you a pancake on the spot!)