The Bonster has landed in Ho Chi Minh City!

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Well, I survived what I thought was going to be a 39 hour train ride. It turned out to ONLY be 33 hours. I was really lucky with respect to the other three people in my cabin. They all turned out to be pretty friendly and they really enjoyed practicing their English with me, the foreigner.

Here's a recap of the last couple of days...

I spent Saturday afternoon with Claire and Chelsea just walking around doing a bit of shopping and we grabbed a bite to eat. We eventually made it back to the Hostel and as per usual hung out round the couches. My only goal for the afternoon was to grab a shower before catching my 7PM train. Mission accomplished!

Before I knew it, it was time to say goodbye to Claire. It sort of seemed weird to be parting ways. It was sort of like the "last" bit of my Tam Ky experience that was going away. Thank goodness I have tons of photos as a souvenir and "memory jogger" of my time in Tam Ky..oh those were the days! At least I know that one day when both Claire and I make it back to Vancouver we'll be able to meet again..can't get rid of me that easily Claire. haha

After saying farewell, I had to go back to my original hotel to pick up my big backpack and then catch a cab to the train station. Thank goodness I had a bit of time to spare because it seemed to appear that all of the taxis in Ha Noi were currently out. After about 25 minutes of waiting I decided to grab a motorcycle taxi to the station. The driver was really keen on practicing his English. On the less than 10 minute ride to the station it seemed like he told me his whole life story and how he would like to pass this special exam in April that will enable him to enter the University he wants to learn English. From there he'll hopefully be able to get a good paying job and be able to support his mom and three younger siblings. Hmm, wonder what else he would have told me if the station was 5 minutes further away? haha Or perhaps he was just working on a really good tip from me!

I made it to the station with at least 30 minutes to spare so I was thankful that I did not have to run for the train especially since I had my two heavy packs with me to drag me down! As I keep on saying..gotta pack lighter. Maybe the "be prepared" Girl Guide motto is helping to weigh me down? Not really...

Anyway, I find my way to my cabin and there are about 10 people in there! Either it's gonna be a really cramped ride to Ho Chi Minh City or these are just well wishers for some of my cabin mates. Thank goodness it was just a few well wishers. I say hello and make my way to the upper bunk to settle in. Meanwhile all the guests are jabbering away. When it came time for them to leave, they all say "good bye" to me. So I say "Tam Biet" just to be polite and use the one of two words of Vietnamese that I know! They all had a good giggle with that. Yen Anh (who is 14 years old) and her dad were two of my cabin mates. Yen Anh's mother (also named Yen Anh!) wished me well and said that her daughter will enjoy my company since she likes to practice using her English. Yen Anh's family and other well wishers are now all on the platform waving feverishly. I wave too since also at the same time they are on the mobile phone and Yen Anh tells me that her sister is saying good bye to me as well. Apparently she was too shy to speak to me in person just a few minutes before! Eventually our fourth cabinmate appears and he takes residence on the other upper bunk. He doesn't say much.

First night on the train
I waved hello to Tam Ky
Now what do I do?

I did a bit of reading before hitting the sack (well before 10PM!) only to discover that the rest of my cabin is fast asleep already! Thank goodness the light switch was within arms reach so it was not like I had to get up to shut the light. 😊

Since there was not much to do when I woke up in the morning besides bring myself to go to the smelly WC and also to brush my teeth, I did not get up until about 9AM. Did some more reading and made some small chat with Yen Anh. Before I knew it, it was time for lunch. So the four of us sat on the lower bunks and "enjoyed" the prepackaged lunch that was served to us. Since I hadn't really been doing much the previous 15 hours, I wasn't really all that hungry. They were all wondering why I wasn't eating that much since they all seemed to down every morsel of food that was given to them. Anyway, we all enjoyed chatting some more and we all shared some of the snacks that we all had brought. It turns out that Yen Anh's father and mother are both Engineers. It appears that their family all enjoy learning the English language and the dad also knows some Russian! Crazy. Anyway, it comes to that time when they all ask me my age...I answer 31..."What! You only look 20!" Why how flattering! Then it turns out that the other guy across the bunk from me is 30.

Of course the next question that comes out is.."do you have a boyfriend?" So I made the quick decision to say yes, back in Canada because I didn't want to go through the whole story of why not etc. Good thing they did not ask what my "boyfriend's" name is because I don't know what I would have said. LOL

Let's see, Yen Anh and her family are from Vung Tau which is southeast of Ho Chi Minh City on the coast and only about two hours away. They kindly invited me to visit if I had a chance and got tired of HCM City. They had spent the week celebrating Tet in Ha Noi with family. Apparently the grandparents have not been in the best of health lately either. I think we chatted for a good three hours or so before I headed back up to my bunk.

Read a bit more and then quick as a wink it was time to eat dinner! Another prepacked dinner similar to lunch..rice, veggies, meat, soup and fish. I also picked up an extra satay beef which was delish. Again we all enjoyed some of the snacks we had all packed and chatted for another couple of hours..then bed time.

Day two on the train
About three hours to go
Almost in Sai Gon.

Sleeping on the train
Chug-a-chug-a-chug-a-chug
Three nights in a row.

I have just realized that I have spent the last three nights sleeping on a train. I have also realized that I have been on more Vietnamese trains than any other trains in the World. Perhaps I will qualify for a frequent rider program of some sort? haha For me, perhaps since I can sleep just about anywhere, I got a pretty good night's sleep all three nights. Vietnamese train travel (if spent with nice and friendly people of course) can be quite pleasant in my opinion. Or perhaps I'm just comparing the last three nights with the first train experience going from Da Nang to Ha Noi in a six-sleeper berth..ugh!

Anyway, I made it to my hotel by 4:30 this morning. I couldn't sleep right away so sat out on my balcony and observed some of the happenings on the street. I'm sure others were probably observing me too! It is amazing what can happen on the streets right before your eyes. Here are some things that I witnessed.
* A man giving a massage. With those heated glass cups and everything!
* Shoe shines
* Food stalls appearing out of thin air.
* Fires burning. Apparently there are no laws against what you can and cannot burn on the streets! I'm always amazed at all the plastics that are burned...
* Haircuts/shaves
* A truck delivering giant blocks of ice. (I'm guessing more than 30??) A man and woman chip away at the blocks and package them up right on the street corner. People on motorbikes cart bags and bags away. They appear to make some deliveries to who knows where as well. When I left my hotel around 12:30 they were still chipping away at the ice blocks!
Then the sun started to rise and get pretty hot so I retreated to the comfort of my air conditioned room!

That's all I have to report at the moment.

Hope all is well with everyone.
Hugs and stuff.
Bonnie

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Comments

[anonymous]

Quick thinking
Don't you remember your boyfriend's name is Matthew, as in Matthew McConaughey or Carter as in Oosterhouse. So easy to remember when it's the truth!!! - Lainers