Our landlord (mediated by the drivers) advised us to be at the bus stop for 4.45am … don’t bother. Tickets can be purchased ten minutes prior to departure of the 5.30am bus, which didn’t leave ‘til 6am anyway. It costs 100,000 dong ($5) and takes 6 hours to carry you out of Vietnam (on terrible mountain roads) to the border crossing ($35 for a UK VISA, a further $2 if you have no photo and a compulsory $1 for 'checking’).

Our last experience of Vietnam was a lack of toilets, making us go in a bush far too close to an overly curious water buffalo.