Was told bus would arrive at 18.30 yesterday, came at 20.00 instead. Played cards with myself 'til I was bored out of my head. Small child took a liking to them though, kept me entertained while her mother had dinner. Got on the bus - upper middle berth, beside the toilet. yay.
Coincidentally, Bobby was in the bed beside me, which only had enough length for his head to his knees - no hole for his feet. Consider myself lucky. Restless night's sleep, only about six hours total. Arrive in NB around 6am, and wander around until I come across the Queen Mini hotel. Room for one, great wifi and hot water. I'm a new man!
Pork mí soup for breakfast. The café owner comes out and pokes the canopy for a few minutes. Knocking all the autumn leaves onto the street. He gathers them into a pile, and then sets fire to them. Simple and effective.
Renting a scooter turned out to be a superb idea. Regretted not riding Spencer's motorbike, and not renting one to go from Hoi An to Hué, so that regret has been voided! A Dutch girl called Marie-Anna was my inspiration, had breakfast with her this morning - she's off to Cuc Phuong national park tonight.
First stop of the day (once I'd gotten the hang of the scooter) was Tráng An, a lake set amongst huge rock formations, and featuring numerous caves. I teamed up with an Israeli couple - Ronnie and Maggie - in a boat. Our rower was an older Vietnamese lady, who occasionally rowed with her feet and was quite brash about looking for a tip at the end of our trip (combined price 24000VND). The karst caves themselves were wondrous - sometimes so low we had to sit on the bottom of the boat, a few larger chambers, always emerging into the daylight, like entering a new world each time. The whole trip was calming and serene.
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I stayed with the Israelis to visit a nearby temple Bai Dinh. Following the signs, we climbed a few flights of steps to discover a couple of simple temples, and shrines in caves. One of these pierced all the way through the mountain, bringing us out the far side in a secluded valley, lush and verdant, almost virgin. We then walked back, and followed a dirt track to find the new temple, replete with three huge Buddhas, and several thousand small ones. The old temple had existed since 1090 (I think that's what the guide said), but the new one was still under construction. It was massive, like a fortress with two huge gates, enclosing walls, a new pagoda (ten stories high?) and several smaller buildings.
After that I continued alone to Hoa Lu, the ancient citadel. Big let down. Just a couple of fairly simple temples, and a big open space like a car park. Raced home then to beat nightfall. Met a trio at the hotel who I'd seen earlier. They were trying to get to Hué, but it's so flooded that the buses aren't running. They succeeded in booking a train though. One of them was half-Irish (Limerick) and half-Mauritian (like Reza)! Also met a couple of Belgian girls who were also going to Hué, but are instead diverting to Sapa. Waiting for them to join me for dinner now.
Coincidentally, Bobby was in the bed beside me, which only had enough length for his head to his knees - no hole for his feet. Consider myself lucky. Restless night's sleep, only about six hours total. Arrive in NB around 6am, and wander around until I come across the Queen Mini hotel. Room for one, great wifi and hot water. I'm a new man!
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| View from my room |
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Renting a scooter turned out to be a superb idea. Regretted not riding Spencer's motorbike, and not renting one to go from Hoi An to Hué, so that regret has been voided! A Dutch girl called Marie-Anna was my inspiration, had breakfast with her this morning - she's off to Cuc Phuong national park tonight.
First stop of the day (once I'd gotten the hang of the scooter) was Tráng An, a lake set amongst huge rock formations, and featuring numerous caves. I teamed up with an Israeli couple - Ronnie and Maggie - in a boat. Our rower was an older Vietnamese lady, who occasionally rowed with her feet and was quite brash about looking for a tip at the end of our trip (combined price 24000VND). The karst caves themselves were wondrous - sometimes so low we had to sit on the bottom of the boat, a few larger chambers, always emerging into the daylight, like entering a new world each time. The whole trip was calming and serene.
>I stayed with the Israelis to visit a nearby temple Bai Dinh. Following the signs, we climbed a few flights of steps to discover a couple of simple temples, and shrines in caves. One of these pierced all the way through the mountain, bringing us out the far side in a secluded valley, lush and verdant, almost virgin. We then walked back, and followed a dirt track to find the new temple, replete with three huge Buddhas, and several thousand small ones. The old temple had existed since 1090 (I think that's what the guide said), but the new one was still under construction. It was massive, like a fortress with two huge gates, enclosing walls, a new pagoda (ten stories high?) and several smaller buildings.
After that I continued alone to Hoa Lu, the ancient citadel. Big let down. Just a couple of fairly simple temples, and a big open space like a car park. Raced home then to beat nightfall. Met a trio at the hotel who I'd seen earlier. They were trying to get to Hué, but it's so flooded that the buses aren't running. They succeeded in booking a train though. One of them was half-Irish (Limerick) and half-Mauritian (like Reza)! Also met a couple of Belgian girls who were also going to Hué, but are instead diverting to Sapa. Waiting for them to join me for dinner now.
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