Indochina Day 15, Boats, Minivans and Trains

Saturday June 11^th

Woke up at 7:00 and went and sat on the deck and admired the view. We were anchored by a large inhabited island and I watched as people rowed their little boats across the strait to the floating village. Had breakfast and then jumped into the water to get my bathing suit and shirt wet, so that the wet clothes would keep me cool for the rest of the trip. Had a good chat with Kee Ann, a new member of our group from Malaysia (see photo). We set sail by 9:00 for the return voyage to Ha Long City. Again the scenery was stunning. We could see we were sailing towards a thunderstorm and it broke just as we were sitting down for lunch. Thankfully it let up shortly afterwards and we were able to offload from the boat to our minivan without getting wet.

The drive back to Ha Noi was good and Chi the guide, gave us some more information about some of the Vietnam minority groups that live in rural areas.

When we got to Ha Noi we picked up our big bags which we had left at the hotel, and then we had to pick up some food for the night train, because the food on board is terrible. So, Richard and I went and ordered a large pizza each for the train. On the way back we sat at a local outside 'pub' where you sit on the corner and drink beer, it's called bai hoi. We had three glasses each and I bought another for a Vietnamese woman who was sitting beside us, who obviously wanted to talk to us but couldn't. She gave us a piece of marinated pork wrapped in a banana leaf that was quite good. We stayed until it was time to catch our minivan for the ride to the train station. The total for the seven beer was $1.50!

We got to the train station before the ticket collector, so Richard and I had a beer in the bar there. I struck up a conversation with two elderly professors from England, a male and a female. There was a Vietnamese male sitting with them, so I asked if he was there guide and the guy said, “No he's my boyfriend that I am bringing along”.

We boarded the train at 7:00 and settled into our rooms. I am bunking with James, Kee Ann and Andrew from Brisbane. I went for a short walk in our car and met a couple about my age and struck up a conversation with them (apparently beer makes me talkative!). They were Klaus from Denmark and Jaclyn from New Zealand. We all had a beer together and we talked about travelling and our impressions of Vietnam. Richard joined us too and we talked for about an hour before Richard and I left.

Back to my bunk where I listened to music for a bit and then fell asleep about 10:00. I woke up at 1:30, listened to some more music and then drifted off and on for the rest of the night. I like the rocking motion of the train the sound of the tracks, but when it stops at stations there is always a jolt that wakes you up.