November 30

Well the train did not go on Nov 28 but we decided to take a car to Hue instead. It was a bit of a splurge but we wanted to move on. Dong Hoi was a nice town but as we couldn't see the cave and it was raining there wasn't much else to do. So here we are in Hue - great place...lots to see. There has been a lot of flooding in these parts and we saw evidence of that all the way here on our drive. Luckily the road was in pretty good shape except one small part that was a bit rough and muddy from the floods but that was a very small part. The streets here still have a lot of mud in them but the waters have gone down and things are getting back to normal here for people. We heard that all the rain was the remnants of a pacific typhoon or something. Today was dry though which was great - we got out on some rather old bicycles and saw some sights.

I'll back track just a bit as I don't have a lot of time tonight either....never enough time. I left you on the local bus to Hekou. As I said this ride while long was just spectacular. We had hoped to take the old train on this route but it was no longer running - but this bus ride was almost as good and probably a bit faster. We actually drove on a road across from the railroad tracks for a while so we got some of the same scenery and certainly plenty of the local color. Our drivers were safe and despite the brake scare we arrived very safely in Hekou on the boarder with Vietnam late in the afternoon. We checked out the boarder crossing and then set out to find a hotel. We were not in the mood to do a lot of searching around after our Jianshui experience so we took the first one we walked into - it was clean enough and the price was OK. We went out and had a beer on the river to celebrate our arrival and to contemplate our last night in China. It was hard to believe that we were going to leave. We had learned so much and really just got the hang of things and now it was time to go. But we were excited to move on to Vietnam if a little aprehensive....after the beer we wandered a bit in search of dinner and found a small local place where the proprietor treated us to some great food. We sat on small stools in the street and watched him and his son whip up some great concoctions in the wok the the grand price of something like $3.75! We were stuffed and well watered - a great last supper. We even took our picture with him as well as some others before we took our leave. We were fascinated while we ate dinner by an older man painting lion masks in the alley where we were sitting. They were quite elaborate and we wondered if there was a festival coming up or something as he was working hard on two different masks. We saw this type of dancing in Yangshuo and it is quite a production.

We made our way back to the hotel and got ready for some rest.....we had some knocks on the door from either someone who had the wrong room or someone who thought we might like some additional company.....we really seem to pick the hotels...but we read later in the book that these boarder towns are pretty known for their prostitution...we had not seen any evidence of this on the streets although the sex toys shop next to the hotel might have been a clue.....oh well - we did actually sleep pretty well - there were like three locks on the door so no one was getting in....and arose fairly early the next morning to cross the boarder. Tom was pretty nervous as the book did not give a great impression of this crossing but all went smoothly..you go through the exit routine on the Chinese side and then walk across a bridge over the Red River before entering the building on the Vietnamese side. I can't say the officials were the warmest people on earth but they did not give us any hassles and I think I even got a smile out of one. It was raining lightly when we exited the building - it was Sunday...something we had not considered when thinking about getting some local currency but they are happy to take US dollars in Vietnam. We were about 3k from the train station and needed a ride given our packs and the rain. The first noticeable difference between China and Vietnam is that on the Chinese side there were a line of taxis outside the entry terminal. On the Vietnamese side you had guys on Honda motorcycles.....when that is your only choice though you take it....so for a buck a piece we climbed on the back of a motorbike and made our way to the train station - I was a bit nervous as I took off first and did not really see Tom until we got to the station but we were delivered without incident there. We had messed up on the time thinking that Vietnam was an hour ahead when it is really an hour behind China so we had to wait for the ticket window to open. While we waited many people came up and asked us if we wanted to go to Sapa, if we needed food or other services but we declined and waited with a few other Westerners. One guy did try to warn us that the day train was not always the most comfortable way to get to Hanoi - he suggested we go to Sapa for a day or two and then catch the night train...in retrospect we should have listened to this advice but we wanted to get the view that traveling by day would afford us.

So once again - I am going to have to hop....we do this internet stuff in two hour stints...it is all we can handle at one time...sorry about that. I will have to continue with the train ride, Hanoi, Halong Bay, Dong Hoi, and now Hue later....I am getting behind I know.

I will leave this note with some thoughts on the two countries we have visited so far....China is amazing. I would love to go back. It is changing so fast. It is hard often to put together the fact that it is a communist country and yet the market economy is booming, people have money and the young people are getting very westernized and they love to shop. It is a country in fast forward for sure. The Chinese tourist are interesting - many traveling for the first time - they love to travel in groups and they are very loud!!! Vietnam is also changing - the population is very young but it is poorer than China. Where Chinese are moving from bicycles to cars, the Vietnamese are moving from bicycles to motor bikes - without helmets often so many are killed in accidents each year. The evidence of the communist regime is more extreme here - morning announcements woke us in Hanoi and Dong Hoi and can be heard in many places. You see more miliary around...it is hard to explain just different. There is still evidence of the war in many places - large military grave yards with large statues in the center, a bombed out church in Dong Hoi, bullet marked walls here in Hue along with areas of historical buildings that were destroyed. Pill boxes grace the end of the bridges here as well - unused but still a reminder of what they were used for in the past. Maybe I am overly sensitive....Everyone in both countries has been nice though - lots of happy hellos from children in both countries. I have entertained kids on both sides of the boarder by taking their picture with our digital camera and then showing it to them - they think this is hysterical and want you to take more.

So that is it for now. Take care all and more soon.

Pam