It's raining (in Vietnam)

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As soon as we reached the border between Laos and Vietnam the clouds rolled in and the rain started. Rivers are swollen and the fields are under water. It makes sense of the design of the houses where they are on concrete/wooden stilts and the living area is on the first floor with storage at ground level.

The 9 hour bus journey was another experience. It was supposed to be a VIP bus but ended up as a crowded local bus. Packed with passengers and goods for delivery, one of the stops necessitated in unloading a fridge from the back of the bus, down the aisle, over the plastic stools and off through the front door! We didn't have street vendors this time but we had a lunch stop at a roadside cafe.

Hostel here in Hue is popular and busy. Brilliant if you want to party but not so great if you want a good nights sleep - so for the second night here I have upgraded to their sister hotel over the road - double bed and private bathroom versus 6 bed (3 bunk beds) mixed dorm and shared bathroom - no contest! And the upgrade only cost me $5.

We are a bit overloaded with sightseeing so the torrential rain meant that I missed going to the Imperial City but still walked across the bridge over the Perfumed River. River is very muddy and carrying lots of trees and debris with it.

To Hanoi on an overnight train - another new experience - well it would have been if the train hadn't been cancelled because of flooding south of Hue. So we changed to an overnight sleeper bus, with bunk beds down each side, and a row down the middle. And blankets provided. I think I was the right height for these as anyone shorter than me spent the night sliding down the beds, and anyone taller couldn't get comfortable.

Hanoi - arrived at 6 in the morning and then got taxis to the hostel. After a quick snooze and breakfast a group of us decided to join the walking tour to get our bearings. Afterwards I went exploring and ended up at the Water=Puppet theatre. Not sure what to expect but it was different an fun. Basically the stage is a pool of water and he stick and string puppets perform on and in the water, with fish dipping and diving, and fire breathing water dragons, together with puppet men in boats, and fishermen with baskets. It was a series of Vietnamese folk stories. The theatre was almost fully booked so obviously a popular event with young and old. Www.thanglongwaterpuppet.org

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