A full day of traveling to our next destination was spent for our half-way mark of our travels through Vietnam.
There was a bit of waiting around as our boat made its way back to the port and we were shuttled back to land. In some ways it was a relief to return to a more comfortable form of life on land after being away in the quiet and watery-world. In others, I immediately missed the breeze and peacefulness of the boat bobbing along the waves.
We boarded our bus heading back to Hanoi where we were to catch our night train down to Hue. The bus was slightly delayed in traffic due to an accident with a taxi and tourist bus, but after a bit of honking, people-watching and swerving in and out of traffic, we were on our speedy way. The bus driver was on the short-tempered side in his driving as he sped by other trucks, cars, and motorbikes driving the bus at a bouncy clip so that we could have been on a trotting horse rather than in the back of a bus. With an interesting “shortcut” that took us down a bumpy dirt road and lost time from the regular road, we made it in good time to Hanoi back to our original hotel where we had a couple of hours to spend before heading for the train station.
Craig and I went for a quick Pho dinner while Roman caught up on his internet. Then, we took a quick taxi ride to the station. Now, our hope had been to get the Livitran for our 13-hour night journey to Hue. However, when we asked at the hotel, they told us it was all sold out. The next best option was for a soft-sleeper bed, with four bunks and a bit more space. Sadly, also sold out. So, our personal trip to the station to get tickets resulted in the three of us getting very cheap tickets for the 6-bunk hard-sleeper bed train. This website shows the different options pretty well.
When we arrived at our car, there were already three or rather four (two women were sharing one of the bottom bunks) people settled in. I took the top bunk and the boys got the two middle bunks. It was an experience… no-smoking cars that allowed smoke, so that it traveled through the air conditioning system right above my head, very little head space and a precarious decline to the ground were a couple of the adjustments needed to be made. Still, I have to say it was not as bad as it could have been and I felt like I got to see how the locals would travel, which is better in a way than using my wealth for comfort. One night of less comfortable environs was worth being able to write about.
In the morning, most people were in the hallway looking out the window and trying to take in some “fresh” air as the scenery flew by. We arrived in Hue without incident and were greeted by our pickup for the hotel.
More to come…
-T
