Day 9 All at sea

More coughing - actually, barking - throughout the night, so, after we’d cruised back out through the magical peaks of Ha Long Bay this morning, I went to the medical centre. Maybe some Night Nurse would sort me out…

But no. As I filled in a big information form, the nurse told me that they were NOT chemists, they could not give me any medicine. I would have to be assessed by the doctor, and any blood tests or procedures deemed necessary would be billable in US$. She said she didn’t want me to be landed with a $3000 bill. Funnily enough, my cough seemed to get suddenly better…

But it didn’t. I had to leave the library lest I disturb the peacefulness (No Muzak) and had to move away on my own in the lecture theatre…

Though I can go for quite some time not coughing. We went to a nice restaurant for breakfast, instead of the buffet. And I didn’t cough.

Then we went to a talk about ‘Vietnam on film’, which was interesting - so many old war films - in the wonderful double height theatre. He did another talk in the afternoon about ‘Is America an Empire?’

The next port of call, NhaTrang, has been cancelled, due to the harbour ‘not being accessible’, and so we have another day at sea. The lecturer has been roped in to give a couple more talks. Just as well he has a few talks up his sleeve.