Don?t you know we?re riding..

On the Reunification Express!! Only an hour late leaving, we boarded the train at Hue for our roughly 13 hour trip to Hanoi. We have a 'soft sleeper' ticket, which is a berth in a sleeping compartment with four berths - two sets of bunks with a small table in between. Lola and Bill paid extra to have one to themselves - apparently Lola snores!! We have our guide Hai in with us, and a young Vietnamese guy - I think he feels a bit out of place! There's an Ok loo at each end of the carriage, which has 7 compartments, it is air conditioned, has a power point and we have our own personal reading light! Luxury!

We bought Vietnamese Pringles, M&Ms, chocolate and something like peanut brittle to sustain us on the journey bought hot tea and bananas at one of the stops around 7pm.

But back to this morning -iIt rained all night and was still raining when we left at 8.30 for our morning's sightseeing, which started with a boat ride on the Perfume River. When we got on board there was a little two year old boy sitting playing quietly, his mother has a small shop on board [yes, we bought some bookmarks] and the father drove the boat. There was a small area behind where we sat and we got the impression that the family actually lived on the boat.

First stop was the Thien Mu Pagoda, founded in 1601. It was a centre of Buddhist opposition to colonialism in the 1930s and 40s, then became famous in 1963 when one of the monks burned himself to death in Saigon. The Austin car he drove there is on show. So many options to blip, but decided on this of the pagoda, complete with people in macs and a raindrop on the lens!

Next to the Imperial Citadel and the Forbidden City, created in the 19th century for the emperors under the Nguyen Dynasty. It is a huge complex of parks, temples and administrative offices with the royal palaces of the Forbidden City at the centre. The complex has been extensively damaged, between wars, fires and termites and there is a lot of restoration work going on. We could have spent longer there but had to think about lunch and catching our train.

A laugh at lunch. It was a touristy place, and the starter was spring rolls served on a concoction of fruit and veg made to look like a peacock. It was pretty obvious, to us anyway, that these would be recycled, but Lola - who likes her food - plucked off one of the carrot 'wings' and proceeded to dip it in a bowl of soy sauce! The waiter's horrified expression said it all. It is in the folio if you want a chuckle!

Our companion, Bill, seems to have a bad allergic reaction to a bite and his hands are all swelling up. Hai has consulted a doctor friend who says he must get medical attention once we reach Hanoi.

three images here in buildings folio, including the peacock!

Scooter diary;
5 office sized water cooler bottles
A monk in full robes with a woolly hat under his crash helmet
Three very large sacks of something!