Travelling... A Lot of Travelling

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We hadn’t been looking forward to this day much since we landed but it had to come around soon enough.

We were on our way to Hue using bus, boat, bus again, taxi then train.

As I write this we’re not sure exactly how far that is but I think it is at around 800kms.

We woke about six and packed our bags. Breakfast was 0730 and from the wide menu I once again opted for the bacon and eggs. Jo was the smart one and ordered the Pho.

At 0830 our bus arrived and we headed back to the wharf to meet our junk. Much of the 45 minute journey was spent on gravel roads being cut out of the mountains. The bus didn’t cope too well with the terrain and we were jolted around a bit but generally it wasn’t too bad.

All around Cat Ba we had seen quarries or huge piles of rocks and stones. Although the island was quiet by Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City standards it is yet to see the tourists that it seems to be setting itself up for. I hope they’re not destroying the land there too much in the name of progress.

We boarded our junk and met up with Tuan again – sober this time. The trip back to Halong City lasted almost two hours. I typed the blog whilst enjoying a couple of 333s and everyone generally kept to themselves. It had been an absolutely superb trip through some of the most amazing scenery I have ever seen. We hadn’t been together long enough to have driven each other crazy so I think, like myself, everyone was reflecting on the tour.

We had lunch at BMC Thang Long Hotel, consisting of prawns, fish, squid stir fry, rice and vegetables, followed by watermelon. One thing can be said about Kangaroo Cafe Tours – you don’t go hungry.

The bus back to Hanoi took four hours and was broken by a 20 minute stop at a touristy superstore in what appeared to be the middle of nowhere. For all the hawkers, shops and market stalls we’ve passed in the last week I’m yet to see any must buy souvenirs and I flat out refuse to buy the Good Morning Vietnam t-shirts that signify to locals that you are a tourist and therefore free game for a scam.

We said bye to Laura, Sally, Ashley and Julian and stayed at Kangaroo Cafe for a few brews and dinner with Chris and Josh. Max – the (in)famous owner of the Kangaroo Cafe came in for a quick check up on how things were going and we said our goodbyes around 1845.

We caught a cab (D38,000) to Ga Ha Noi – the train station were we boarded our sleeper to Hue. No one seemed to be able to tell us how long the journey would take but we thought it would be around the 12 hour mark.

Our tiny cabin was air conditioned but the facilities were basic to say the least. I could just stretch out completely and the bed was as wide as I am (more of an issue with me than the bed though). We shared the four bed cabin with a Vietnamese couple who spoke as much English as we did Vietnamese.

And that is where you find me now. If this post ends with this paragraph you can assume I got some sleep before midnight.

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