Vietnam 2008 - Day 4 - Ba Be Lake

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The next morning, I told Ha I wouldn't be able to continue biking, so he called his manager and quickly changed our itinerary to return to Hanoi. We spent a little time at the homestay, had a nice breakfast, and walked along the one street in the little village. It was an incredibly beautiful place. I thought it was cool that although some people may have mansions worth millions of dollars, they didn't have the magical view that these folks enjoyed every day. We met some of the kids - totally adorable - and they loved having their photo taken.

I had to ride on the back of En-Yu's bike to the nearest town - about a 40 minute ride. Ugh. We got there just in time for me to catch the public bus back to Hanoi while Paul and the two guides rode the bikes back. The bus was smallish - would probably accommodate about 20 people. We stopped for lunch at one of those truckstop type diners, but food ordering seemed to take place through clairvoyance. People sat, dishes came out, but I had no idea how it all worked. I'm sure I could have figured out how to communicate "chicken and rice" but I really wasn't very hungry anyway.

Not much to tell about the bus ride. It was long. People got on, people got off. Merchandise and/or cash was exchanged along the way. It was kind of interesting, but I felt like crud, so just wanted to get back to Hanoi.

I think Paul enjoyed the ride back. Turns out, my motorbike was a mess - the throttle was stuck and the front fork bearings were loose. En-Yu stopped to have repairs, while Paul visited with a Frenchman, who thought Paul was French.

When we got back to Hanoi, we met up at the travel agency office, where Dac Danh, the manager, set us up with a new itinerary. He booked us on an overnight boat trip at Halong Bay and changed our flight so we'd get to Hoi An a day earlier. They also made reservations for us at a nice restaurant for a pre-paid dinner. The dinner was pretty good - Hanoi style fish with dill. The dill was a little strong for our taste, but still really good. It was a nice place.

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Photos

Stilt House
This photo was taken from the balcony/deck of the Tay Village house we stayed in.

Rice Mill
The mill they use to prepare the locally grown and harvested rice. The rice was tasty - shorter and starchier than jasmine or basmati rice - and had it's own, hearty flavor. What a rice snob I am.

The village
Other homes in the Ba Be 'hood.

Napping
Momma and baby waterbuffalo sleeping in, waiting for coffee.

KZUM in Vietnam
Had to show off my KZUM t-shirt for publicity. Go KZUM!

Kids
Kids playing jumprope

Cheese!
The children liked having their photo taken. They're pros - asked to see the display screen on the back of the camera.

The rest of the day
Inside of the bus to Hanoi. My view for the next 6 hours. I should have given the camera to Paul.