riding the rails

Our last day in Ha Noi.... what to do? Keith visited once more and we headed out for lunch. The kids love the fried rice and it may become a staple in their diet. I'm just happy when I can get Audrey to eat, so I'm more than willing to order the same thing every time. This time we ate in a little cafe with an upstairs balcony, no surprise that the kids (and I) enjoy the view. Audrey had her first hot chocolate-Vietnamese style and really the best way to describe it would be liquid pudding. You know when you make it at home and before you put it in the refrigerator? That's what it was like: thick and syrupy-sweet. I drank it and called it lunch.

After lunch we headed back to the hotel, stopping at an ATM along the way, and tried to figure out what we could do with these kids who were tired of strolling the same area of town, had little interest in seeing more old stuff and were bored to the point of misbehavior. Then the lightbulb lit above Keith's head and he suggested the shopping center's arcade, so off we went without telling the kids. It was a hit, for sure! A bit overwhelming at times with the pushing and shoving, but overall a really great time and in an environment where they could vent some of the physical energy and not worry about being too loud.

Our train was scheduled to leave at 7pm, so we took a taxi over (barely fitting our luggage into the car), piled out and waited for the doors to open and allow loading. As we waited, a young man approached and grabbed hold of my tickets. I wasn't about to let go, though, and he read them then pointed at the train. I shook my head yes, that I knew it was my train, but as the doors opened and we all streamed toward the cars, the fellow came up and grabbed our suitcases, loading them onto the railway car for us. He looked again at our tickets to find the berth numbers and set about finding them, then loaded all of our suitcases under the beds (the big one under the table) and promptly asked for a tip. I was nearly ready to give the boy a kiss at this time, so I tipped him more than some might approve of (50,000VND= $3.00), but it was well worth it. I honestly don't think I could have lifted those suitcases up those stairs or known how to pack them in.

The whole adventure of the train ride had worried me. We were alone, completely (no front desk clerk who speaks English or a good friend to call) and in "hard sleepers" and headed to a place I wasn't sure I'd recognize and had not idea when we'd be there. I'd been told we'd arrive at 7am, 10am and 11:45am. The latter was correct. I was a bit nervous, though I was hoping for the best. Turns out, it was fine. We fell asleep within an hour; the train's rocking is lovely for putting tired people to sleep. I only slept a few hours, then fitfully dozed for the remainder of the dark hours.

After 6am, the view came into show. There was so much to see and again that feeling of "Oh my, we really are in Viet Nam" hit me as I watched rice farmers tilling their fields with plows pulled by water buffaloes; women in cone hats, up to their knees in water, working in the paddies; ancient burial spots with temple-like structures around them; boats and the rivers and fishing nets. It was all exactly like I'd expected. Several people waved as we passed, my face pressed to the window.

The kids woke much later and enjoyed the view, as well. Especially the section between Hue and Da Nang. The guidebooks are right about that. Stunning views of palm trees up the mountain on one side and the ocean beating against the shore just to the other side. Even the cramped quarters and the squat toilets (!) couldn't take away from the fun of the train and the kids asked that we do it again, so we will take the train to Hue when we visit in a couple of weeks. It was an amazing trip and one that I highly recommend. We even were served two meals, something I completely didn't expect. A great time that ended with our arrival in Da Nang, where we were picked up by GVN people.

We checked into our hotel, but our room was so mildewed from the rainy season that it was honestly causing me to feel like the floor was moving and I had an instant migraine. We opened the windows and went for a walk with Summer, Tamra, Aiday and Hailey. Da Nang is much calmer than Ha Noi and was easy to walk around in, but proved to be a city that lacks much interest.

Except for the dilapidated amusement park that we strolled through. It was like a Twilight Zone episode, honestly. There were bumper cars that sat idly in their cage. Street kids touching my kids and asking "money, money." A row of caged animals were to the left: monkeys, a bear, two crocodiles, and an empty python cage. Strolling further, we came across an exercise area with large, welded things that resembled the equipment at the gym, including an ellptical, a treadmill, weight machine and others things to work your arms and legs. It was very strange. And throughout much of it sat an empty monorail track. The kids enjoyed themselves, but I couldn't help being slightly weirded out by this place that time seemed to have left behind, yet there were still a few people hanging out there.

Then we met the children. "Hello!" "Hello!" they all call out and we smiled. The five or six girls joined in for play and everyone had a great time on the old merry-go-round and the strange, extra-wide swing. Then it became tiresome to our girls to be followed constantly, so we decided to leave. Problem is, the girls continued to follow us, even as we split ways with the rest of our group. Right out to the main street, across the traffic and into the supermarket. Then they waited, watching us from the end of each aisle we passed. They weren't allowed into the store area, so they waited for us by the checkstand, then followed us again as we began our walk back to the hotel. They left us about halfway home, a relief as were were all a bit creeped out by it at this point.

Our hotel was still stinky, so we asked for a room change via Viet and hours later (and had an increased price) we got a new room. We no longer had the mildew, though we had acquired a lizard. That we could deal with though and sleep came easily despite the warmth.