Day 5 - Halong Bay, Hanoi & Hue. Drunken first class train ride and Vietnamese Wine
Today in Nam we woke up quite early to try and get a glimpse of the sunrise. Once I opened my eyes I discovered two concerning things:
1. It was already light outside which means we may have missed the sunrise
2. My throat was sore which is usually the beginning signs of a cold.
There was no time to panic about the cold since the sun wasn't waiting. I quickly had a shower, grabbed my camera and raced to the top deck where I was expecting to find everyone else admiring the beautiful sights. Once I reached the top deck I was surprised to find I was the first one awake and in fact the sun hadn't risen over the limestone cliffs.
Shortly I was joined on the deck by David then Christie and then the rest of the group. Because of the pollution the sunrise was a little disappointing but we still managed to get a few good shots. After breakfast we set sail again, our destination would take us past a fishing village, to a cave then finally back to the docks.
Once we got to the cave we all made our way onto the small ferry that was attached to our boat and the crew drove us to the land. Taking the ferry to the land was a lot easier than trying to take the boat. This was because the docks at the cave were worst than a shopping center car park around Christmas
After admiring the skills of the captains of the boats we, and about 400 other tourists made our way into the caves. The cave was a lot larger than I thought it would be and was lit with different coloured lights. Vu our tour leader gave us some information on the caves but I really just spent the entire time trying to get some good shots on my camera. That was made pretty hard by the fact we had limited light in the caves, I didn't have a tripod or steady hands. But after Sam and I shared some tips I managed to get a few acceptable shots. After walking through the caves for probably just under and hour we made our way back outside and back onto our Ferry. Once aboard our boat we set sail again this time to the docks for our bus ride back to Hanoi, via a Peal factory (which was very boring for the guys) and lunch.
When we got to our train and in the cabins we noticed that on the platform you could buy more drinks and food. David thought we had enough drinks but I disagreed, we had wine and half a bottle of rice Vodka but no beer. Everyone knows that there's nothin' so lonesome, so dull or so drear than a train with no beer. So Taylor and I quickly jumped off the train and bought 2 Hanoi beers. Back on board the train we started drinking and before to long the first beer was finished. At this stage we were zero minutes into the journey since the train hadn't started moving. So quickly back off the train I ran to get some more drinks.
Today in Nam we woke up quite early to try and get a glimpse of the sunrise. Once I opened my eyes I discovered two concerning things:
1. It was already light outside which means we may have missed the sunrise
2. My throat was sore which is usually the beginning signs of a cold.
There was no time to panic about the cold since the sun wasn't waiting. I quickly had a shower, grabbed my camera and raced to the top deck where I was expecting to find everyone else admiring the beautiful sights. Once I reached the top deck I was surprised to find I was the first one awake and in fact the sun hadn't risen over the limestone cliffs. Shortly I was joined on the deck by David then Christie and then the rest of the group. Because of the pollution the sunrise was a little disappointing but we still managed to get a few good shots. After breakfast we set sail again, our destination would take us past a fishing village, to a cave then finally back to the docks.
Once we got to the cave we all made our way onto the small ferry that was attached to our boat and the crew drove us to the land. Taking the ferry to the land was a lot easier than trying to take the boat. This was because the docks at the cave were worst than a shopping center car park around Christmas
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| Chaos as boats are trying to dock |
After admiring the skills of the captains of the boats we, and about 400 other tourists made our way into the caves. The cave was a lot larger than I thought it would be and was lit with different coloured lights. Vu our tour leader gave us some information on the caves but I really just spent the entire time trying to get some good shots on my camera. That was made pretty hard by the fact we had limited light in the caves, I didn't have a tripod or steady hands. But after Sam and I shared some tips I managed to get a few acceptable shots. After walking through the caves for probably just under and hour we made our way back outside and back onto our Ferry. Once aboard our boat we set sail again this time to the docks for our bus ride back to Hanoi, via a Peal factory (which was very boring for the guys) and lunch.We got some some awesome Beef Noodles for lunch at a Vietnamese fast food place. They also sold lollies and chocolates so David stocked up on some m&m's. Once we reached Hanoi Dave and myself decided to get dropped off at the supermarket so we could get some food for the impending train ride to Hue. When we found the supermarket we got stopped by the security guard because bag's weren't allowed in the supermarket. Instead we had to leave it with a guard out the front who gave us a number and put our bags in a basket. We nervously left our bags with the guard and entered the supermarket.
Our shopping list consisted of only the finest foods that we would need for a 12 hour train trip: Wine, Vodka, Chips, Chocolate, Water and nuts. At the wine aisle we were spoilt for choice, obviously we had to go a local wine but which one? We had narrowed it down to an option of either a 40,000 wine or a 100,000 wine ($2 compared to $5). Not wanting to be drinking rocket fuel we opted for the expensive one. Suddenly that is where our next dilemma came up, none of the wines were screw tops only corks. So after racing up and down the aisles we eventually found a cheap corkscrew and bought that as well.
From the supermarket we were relieved that the security hadn't stolen our bags so we caught a cab back to our hotel. At the hotel we bumped into some people who were keen to get some food from Koto (a restaurant which hires disadvantaged youths). We had a quick drink and cake from Koto then boarded our bus on route to the train station. On the bus Vu split us into 3 groups of 4 people for the cabins on the train. The groups ended up being: Group #1 (Guys): David, George, Taylor and myself, Group #2 (Girls): Morag, Christie, Lauren and Sam, Group #3: Jenny, Allen, Wendy & Lizzy. Vu had to share a cabin with strangers since all our cabins were full.
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| Me, Taylor, David and George |
Before we knew it we had all ventured and grouped into the girls cabin. In the cabin Vu was pouring extremely strong Vodka and OJ's. So I decided that it was time David and myself opened our expensive bottle of Vietnamese red. I managed to get the cork out of the red wine without breaking it so we were off to a flying start. After pouring equal shares into a plastic cup which I think are just as good as Riedel wine glasses we could finally try the local wine. Dave and I cautiously took our first sip of the red ready to savour the flavours. Since doing a wine course in Australia I feel I'm pretty good with picking the flavours. The first one that hit me with this red was cigarettes and sherbet. The cigarette taste wasn't like the nice tobacco flavours that you normally get in wines it tasted like an ash tray. In regards to the sherbet, it wasn't that this wine tasted like sherbet it was the fact that as soon as it hit you tongue it started bubbling which I'm pretty sure wine isn't meant to do. Every sip I took I kept imagining I was drinking a potion that a witch had brewed in a cauldron.
Luckily not long after our first mouthful one of the train staff members came to our door selling beers. Because the wine didn't live up to expectation we quickly ordered some more beers to wash away the bubbling sensation on our tongue. So we spent the rest of the night drinking, listening and singing to music and visiting the other cabins around us. At some stage I recall leaving the girls nightclub cabin and crashing out on my bed.
Luckily not long after our first mouthful one of the train staff members came to our door selling beers. Because the wine didn't live up to expectation we quickly ordered some more beers to wash away the bubbling sensation on our tongue. So we spent the rest of the night drinking, listening and singing to music and visiting the other cabins around us. At some stage I recall leaving the girls nightclub cabin and crashing out on my bed.
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