Monday 25 June
After breakfast, when we check out of the lovely Hoi An Beach Resort and pay our bill, we are given a present each by the staff - a little silk bag for me, and a silk tie for Reg. I guess they must give these to all the holidaymakers (or maybe just to those who stay for at least a week). It's a sweet touch.
While waiting in the hotel vestibule for our taxi to take us to Da Nang station we get talking to a man and ask him where he's from.
"I'm Australian," he replies, in a thick non- Australian accent, and what's more, he doesn't look "Australian" (ie he's nothing like all the Australians we've met so far on this trip). He tells us he lives in Perth and talks about his life there.
"But where did you come from originally?" I can't resist asking.
"From Vietnam. From Saigon. I migrated to Austrialia in 1981."
"We're you one of the Vietnamese boat people?" asks Reg.
" Yes," says the man, "Small boat, many people." And his eyes hold an unfathomable expression - perhaps of sadness and suffering.
"You surely have a story to tell, then," I say; but we have to say goodbye because our taxi has arrived. Our first encounter, as far as we know, with a Vietnamese "boat person."
Our train, due at 12.00 am is going to be 3 quarters of an hour late and we wait in the hot, stuffy station along with many others - mostly Vietnamese, but a few Westerners too. Finally we make our way along the platform, where there are at least 15 stalls selling snacks and Vietnamese hot food - including steaming vegetables and cooked chicken, corn on the cob and exotic fruits.
The exterior of the train has seen better days, and, we discover, so has the interior. It's our first experience of a Vietnamese day train, and we're in an open carriage with seats much like in a British train - except that everything has a very run-down, worn-out look, and the laptrays (mine is broken) are not clean. I glimpsed the toilet as we boarded the train, and I don't even think about using it.
We're only on the train for about 3 hours though, and the seats are quite comfortable. We chat for a while to a young Australian couple sitting opposite us who are on holiday in Vietnam; the 4 of us are the only Westerners in the carriage.
There are one or two overhead TV screens in the carriage and soon the Euro England v Italy match is being relaid. It was on so late last night (1.45 am) that most people probably hadn't had a chance to see it. Reg did.
On arrival at Hue station, taxi drivers vie for our custom; we'd rather get a metered taxi but none are available. One driver offers to take us to our hostel for 60,000 dong - £2- so we settle for that. When we arrive at our hostel (we've discovered that hostels seem to be cheap hotels in Vietnam), as soon as our taxi draws up, a young man comes out of the hotel to help us with our luggage, and a young woman in uniform stands at the hotel door with a beaming smile and a wave. We are touched by this lovely warm welcome.
Inside the Jade Hotel we are given cold drinks, fruit and ice-cold wet flannels (this happens a lot in Vietnam - very soothing when the temperature outside is 37 deg c).
We are given maps of the town; we ask for a good place to eat, and enquire about places of interest, as we are only in Hue for one day. Hue was once the ancient capital of Vietnam. We discuss a river boat trip and before we know it, tomorrow is mapped out for us, with boat and motorbike transport! I say I haven't been on a motorbike since I was young; the young receptionist assures me we'll have helmets and the bikes will be very safe - Reg and I will ride pillion on separate bikes, I'm relieved to learn; it's not unusual to see 3 people on a motorbike in Vietnam. I've even seen whole families - 2 adults and 2 children.
Our room is clean and comfortable, adequate for our needs - we try not to compare with the 4-star luxury we've lived in for the past week! We enjoy a Vietnamese meal (including spring rolls which is a traditional dish) at the restaurant recommended to us by the hostel/hotel staff. Then we wander along the riverbank, which is lit up with numerous stalls, which comprise the Hue Night Market. There's cooked food for sale, cheap jewellery, clothes, bags and belts, novelties and trinkets and sunglasses - much as you would find in any Vietnamese streetmarket.
After breakfast, when we check out of the lovely Hoi An Beach Resort and pay our bill, we are given a present each by the staff - a little silk bag for me, and a silk tie for Reg. I guess they must give these to all the holidaymakers (or maybe just to those who stay for at least a week). It's a sweet touch.
While waiting in the hotel vestibule for our taxi to take us to Da Nang station we get talking to a man and ask him where he's from.
"I'm Australian," he replies, in a thick non- Australian accent, and what's more, he doesn't look "Australian" (ie he's nothing like all the Australians we've met so far on this trip). He tells us he lives in Perth and talks about his life there.
"But where did you come from originally?" I can't resist asking.
"From Vietnam. From Saigon. I migrated to Austrialia in 1981."
"We're you one of the Vietnamese boat people?" asks Reg.
" Yes," says the man, "Small boat, many people." And his eyes hold an unfathomable expression - perhaps of sadness and suffering.
"You surely have a story to tell, then," I say; but we have to say goodbye because our taxi has arrived. Our first encounter, as far as we know, with a Vietnamese "boat person."
Our train, due at 12.00 am is going to be 3 quarters of an hour late and we wait in the hot, stuffy station along with many others - mostly Vietnamese, but a few Westerners too. Finally we make our way along the platform, where there are at least 15 stalls selling snacks and Vietnamese hot food - including steaming vegetables and cooked chicken, corn on the cob and exotic fruits.
The exterior of the train has seen better days, and, we discover, so has the interior. It's our first experience of a Vietnamese day train, and we're in an open carriage with seats much like in a British train - except that everything has a very run-down, worn-out look, and the laptrays (mine is broken) are not clean. I glimpsed the toilet as we boarded the train, and I don't even think about using it.
We're only on the train for about 3 hours though, and the seats are quite comfortable. We chat for a while to a young Australian couple sitting opposite us who are on holiday in Vietnam; the 4 of us are the only Westerners in the carriage.
There are one or two overhead TV screens in the carriage and soon the Euro England v Italy match is being relaid. It was on so late last night (1.45 am) that most people probably hadn't had a chance to see it. Reg did.
On arrival at Hue station, taxi drivers vie for our custom; we'd rather get a metered taxi but none are available. One driver offers to take us to our hostel for 60,000 dong - £2- so we settle for that. When we arrive at our hostel (we've discovered that hostels seem to be cheap hotels in Vietnam), as soon as our taxi draws up, a young man comes out of the hotel to help us with our luggage, and a young woman in uniform stands at the hotel door with a beaming smile and a wave. We are touched by this lovely warm welcome.
Inside the Jade Hotel we are given cold drinks, fruit and ice-cold wet flannels (this happens a lot in Vietnam - very soothing when the temperature outside is 37 deg c).
We are given maps of the town; we ask for a good place to eat, and enquire about places of interest, as we are only in Hue for one day. Hue was once the ancient capital of Vietnam. We discuss a river boat trip and before we know it, tomorrow is mapped out for us, with boat and motorbike transport! I say I haven't been on a motorbike since I was young; the young receptionist assures me we'll have helmets and the bikes will be very safe - Reg and I will ride pillion on separate bikes, I'm relieved to learn; it's not unusual to see 3 people on a motorbike in Vietnam. I've even seen whole families - 2 adults and 2 children.
Our room is clean and comfortable, adequate for our needs - we try not to compare with the 4-star luxury we've lived in for the past week! We enjoy a Vietnamese meal (including spring rolls which is a traditional dish) at the restaurant recommended to us by the hostel/hotel staff. Then we wander along the riverbank, which is lit up with numerous stalls, which comprise the Hue Night Market. There's cooked food for sale, cheap jewellery, clothes, bags and belts, novelties and trinkets and sunglasses - much as you would find in any Vietnamese streetmarket.
No comments:
Post a Comment