Out of Hanoi

We have left Hanoi behind now and travelled south to Hue. We got the overnight sleeper from Hanoi at 2300hrs last night, which rattled and rolled its way down the coast, dropping us off here at around 1100hrs this morning. The sleeper was way better than I had expected, expecially since I could lie fully flat on my back without having my spine compressed, which led to a decent night's sleep. Catherine didn't get so much so she's upstairs at the moment trying to catch up (the weather is postively British outside, not ideal for sightseeing). We had to share the cabin with a couple of other people from Germany and Austria who, luckily for us were also boring and wanted to get some kip too.
It was a good chance after waking this morning to see the countryside and some of the countless rice fields that lined the track. People were up ploughing with their Oxes in what looked like huge fields of flooded mud. There must have been rice under there somewhere.
We're in 'The Sports Hotel' in Hue which looks so far to be a great bargain at about 5 pounds per head. No sports going on unfortunately, except the endless FA Premier League replays on TV, but it is very friendly and clean. Hue looks to be way more relaxed than Hanoi, which is coming as a relief.
I was going to put up a few photos of Hanoi from yesterday and a couple of the train - for you trainspotters out there (like my Dad (and me)), but this computer is playing up. You'll just have to imagine them.

Stay safe
Nic

---

---