We boarded the train in Hue. It was an early departure at 05:30. We didn't get coffee or the breakfast the hotel promised to have for us to take and go. So here we sit, an hour into a fifteen hour train ride. We have Vietnamese television to keep us company but nothing is subtitled or dubbed.
Martha is journaling, I'm bored. But the other passengers are fun to watch.
Update: We're just south of Haifong now. Another hour and half to go. Update two: We're now 20 minutes from the center of Hanoi. Next up, shower, food and alcohol.
More later
Martha's Notes:
After our miserable knees on the first train, and the mold and no sleep on the second, Chuck tried to convince me to take a plane from Hue to Hanoi. He even got the travel person at the hotel to get us flight costs and information.
At lunch, we talked to the young waitress and told her we were taking the trains, and she seemed really enthused that we would get to see more of Vietnam than just the cities. So I got stubborn, and Chuck caved. We took the third train as planned.
The hotel didn't have breakfast to go, as they had promised us, but they did have a cab waiting at 4:30 am. Yawn. We ended up buying instant noodles and snacks on the train to get us through the day.
This was by far the best train trip of the three. People got off and on frequently, and we got to see and talk to different people along the way.
There were three high school teachers from Australia that were backpacking Vietnam. There was a 20 to 30 year old man behind us who was Vietnamese and spoke English with a British accent, as he had been studying in Europe. He and his wife had their 18 month old son with them, and the little boy ran up and down the aisles in the train car, and then drooled down the back of my seat! It was Sunday again, so as the day got later, we saw more professionals that looked like they were heading back to the city after the weekend.
The train ride took us through the countryside where I spent hours trying to get a decent photo of a water buffalo. I managed a few good shots of the farmers in their fields, harvesting rice by hand. It's amazing what a contrast this country is: the cities with WiFi everywhere and skyscrapers being built, while the farmers are still working with water buffalo and hand drawn carts. Despite the long sitting and the smells (and cockroaches) on the train, I am glad we didn't miss seeing this!
At this point in our travels, I did a little health check, as getting sick on the trip was a little of a concern. I was feeling good, other than the sinus crap from the previous train ride. Chuck had some digestive upset that started after our trip to the Mekong and lasted for a while. He was also dealing with a kidney stone and pulled muscles in his legs. So, he was probably in a little pain, which may explain the crankiness I noticed a couple days before.
Vital Statistics
Date - Sunday, September 27
High Temperature - 95 degrees, Heat Factor 112 degrees
Hours on the Train - 14.5
Miles on the Train - about 450
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