27/9
Packed and ready to leave on the 9.15 train tonight allowed us to wander and take in the beautiful day and mingle with the locals. Pleasant and relaxed.
Cabins sorted we set off for Hanoi due in at 5.15am. 5.00 am and banging on the door Hanoi Hanoi screamed the conductor as he threw the door open. Perhaps next time we will take the train run by the Victoriana or the Tulico train. Lan met us as we dropped onto the platform and whisked us away to the hotel to freshen up as we had a day trip to Ninh Binh arranged. Breakfast was at a soup kitchen the followed by a bum numbing 3 hour trip to Tam Cok.
Small boats awaited us to ferry us along the waterway with 2 to a boat. Our boat oarspeople were 2 ladies one about 60 and the other about 35. They passed me a paddle and off we went. The rocky outcrops reached skyward and jutted craggily over the water with goats and tribesmen traversing along the sides. In through caves with rooves so low you had to duck down to pass or face a belt in the head. By the end Celeste had taught the ladies to say Duck Down and they got a kick out of watching me duck when they called out. It was 2.5 hours of paddelling and marvelling at the scenery as well as these women who row so effortlessly some times with their feet. A definite place to visit. We bid the ladies goodbye and headed back to Hanoi taking in the Rice and Cane fields with locals toiling away . Smoke was thick in the air due to burning the waste from the rice and it made the Sunset eerie and sinister looking.
Very weary tonight and we showered then had some dinner then hit the bed. No late night tonight!
Friday morning and awake at 7 am with chairs scraping and banging in the Restaurant above our head. Hangback street in the "Old Quarter" was the go for today both for Silver shopping and to try and find the "Layback" Cafe that we loved 3 years ago People milling everywher as we strolled in and out of shops and dodging stools and chairs scattered along the path. Great fun ! The din is relentless and the sea of bodies ever moving in all directions. Voices, motorbikes screaming, smells hitting your senses it is fantastic. We arrived back at the Hotel and the desk gave me a message to ring our travel agent. Mmmm this is interesting.
We knew a Typhoon had hit Manilla and was heading for our next destination Hoi An. Everyone else ariived back at the same time as the travel agent. Category 4 Typhoon heading toward the Quong Dong Province amybe you should not go ? Do we go or don't we. Maybe it will turn. In the end we changed our plans. In 3 hours our flight were changed, hotel organized and ready to go. Pan Thiet was our destination which is on the Red China Sea , a 4 hour drive from Ho Chi Min City.
