Day 18 – October 5 – Halong Bay – Hanoi

We awoke early this morning to participate in Tai Chi class. We went to the deck where the Tai Chi master lead us in an hour of Tai Chi. It was fantastic. Just slow, meditative movements with the early morning sun shining over across the waking Bay. Joining us this morning were the Aussies. I had this picture in my mind that those in the Floating Village were watching us, Westerners on the deck of a luxury ship, practicing Tai Chi and laughing to themselves about the absurd spectacle. We had fun, which was all that mattered.

Breakfast was a simple affair with the four Aussies. The rest of our friends had left earlier that morning for the day boats. After breakfast we were told by OCAC that we were to go to the Surprise Cave, but Robin and I decided to stage a small mutiny. We were not going to go to the Surprise Cave, and instead, enjoy our waning hours on the boat up on the deck. We enjoyed laying out on the lounge chairs, soaking in the sun on our last morning in Halong Bay. The silence was exquisite, we were finally free of crying babies, pushy OCAC and any other distractions from the view and sun. It was a perfect morning.

When the Aussies returned, we packed up, had our bags outside our cabins, and waited up on the deck for our return to port. It was a solemn affair. Tom and Carol were finishing a little more than three months of traveling and the rest of us dreaded a return to vans and traffic and loud noises. Around 11am, it was time for us to say goodbye to the Indochina Sails II, Froggy and OCAC (yet, I had no tears to shed for these new friends, just time to move on), and we were on our way to the pier restaurant, where the weekend had begun. I gave Carol a hug goodbye, and she gave me her and Tom’s contact info, inviting me to stay with them in Australia if I had time. That was very kind of her! If I can make it to the Sunshine Coast, I’ll definitely look them up. Robin and I waited for a little while, then got on our Handspan bus back to Hanoi. It was pretty full, and there was a family with two children who were going nuts. Absolutely off the wall. It appeared that the kids had made friends with some other children in a British family, and the British kid’s dad was trying desperately to calm the children down. Sit here, watch this. Here is a book. Look at the camera… on and on because the parents of the other family were completely oblivious to their own rowdy children. So, I plugged in. Nothing else to do in that situation, right? I listened to some good tunes, fell asleep, and rode back to the soothing car horns and insane traffic of Hanoi.

Back in Hanoi around 5pm, we had little to do before the train left at 11:00pm. So we went to the vegetarian restaurant adjacent to the Handspan office, Tamarind, and had lunch/dinner. We started pounding Vietnamese iced coffees which were oh so good. They put a bit of condensed milk in it, which lightens the taste of the heavy, dark coffee very well. I looked over at Robin, who had this look of wonder and then absolute joy. He calls over the waitress and asks her if the massage sign is correct: 90 minute massage for $20. She says yes. Well, thanks, lady, you just made Robin’s month. I decided to sit back and write a bit, look into places in Hoi An, while Robin got his massage. As much as Robin loves his massages, I’m indifferent. While he was upstairs, this woman looked at me and said, “Dan? Dan! Hey, I knew I’d see you here!” I looked back down at my computer, assuming she was referencing a man named Dan near me. But no, for some reason, I look like a Dan to her. I tell her, no, sorry, I’m not Dan. No, she cries, you’re the photographer! No, just because I have a camera doesn’t make me a photographer. Turns out, her name is Elena, she is Italian, and she has been traveling for quite a while. We spoke for a bit, and after she told me her next destination, Hue, I told her I was going to Hoi An. She suggested we meet up in Hoi An or Saigon. Wow, Dan really has a fan. She has to leave for her train, she’s taking the earlier 7pm train to Hue, but she tells me how she’ll find me in Hoi An. Fun! A potential stalker!

Later, after another two iced coffees, Robin and I leave for the train station. It is a large station which is devoid of pretty much any convenience except for a concession stand (slim pickings) and a bathroom (Robin pretty much passed out after being in there for 60 seconds, apparently hygiene is not a concern). We got to our train, which was full of tourists. We got the middle of the three classes which had four bunks to a cabin with a minimal cushion and blanket on each bed. We shared the cabin with a couple from Lijang, China. He was British, working for an architectural firm, and she was Chinese. They had decided to beat it out of China during the 60th Anniversary of Independence festivities since it was so nuts. There was a full week off of work and school for everyone. Parades and parties, fireworks and shows, but they just wanted to go to Halong Bay and Hoi An. They were very interesting, a nice couple, and a pleasure to share the cabin. She did not complain once about the Spartan set-up and slept most of the time. Robin and I read or wrote. No worries.