I simply can’t get enough of Tam Coc! Despite having to check out of our accommodation at 11 am and having 12 hours to kill before our overnight train departing from Ninh Binh at 11.10 pm Mr Phuc let us store our luggage (this was unsecured in the hallway but it seemed safe enough) so that we could soak up more of Tam Coc, after breakfast and a post-breakfast chill out to make the most of the 11 am check out. Then we hit Tam Coc again, this time in the form of an electric golf cart hop-on-hop-off tour. Our 100,000 ticket covered three sights, although I’d already seen one on foot and the other during my iron-middle-aged-woman cycle leg the day before I was keen to enjoy the countryside again, this time without the sore behind.
The final stop of the three was at Bich Dong. The water had receded a lot since yesterday and there was way less chaos so we decided to head towards the temple. There was a sign indicating that you should cover up and be, ‘very demure, very mindful’, but honestly it was just too fecking hot so we walked up a few steps for the view but didn’t make it to the most sacred bits.
Sightseeing complete we returned to our former hotel to make the most of the pool facilities to cool off and nap. I made the most of the local massage services. I thought the first time I had a massage and this happened it was a one-off but the same thing happened at a different place so it must be how things roll here, or maybe just because it’s heading into winter and it’s a quieter time for tourists. The way things seem to work is that you agree to what services you want with the woman fronting the shop, in this case I asked for a 30-minute foot and leg massage and a 30-minute neck and shoulder massage as I couldn’t be bothered doing the whole get undressed and lie on a table palava. The woman set me up on a comfy chair, provided me with water and a lolly and plonked my feet in a tub of water. Side note, you never walk into a Thai massage provider with your street shoes on, they get swapped at the door for some inside slip-on plastic shoes that they provide (try not to think about athlete’s foot). Then she makes a phone call to the actual massage therapist who within 10-15 minutes arrives on a moped. You obviously aren’t using your massage time for their commute but you should allow more time than you would expect for an hour of services. My plan to not have to get undressed went quickly out the window, as soon as the therapist did arrive I was herded up a small staircase, ordered to undress, slip on a sleeveless dress and lay flat on a massage table. I shouldn’t complain though, the massage was lovely and another $20 well spent. The only downside was they hadn’t stumped up for Spotify premier so every 10 minutes or so the lovely, relaxing ding-ping-dong-bong-nong-plop-drip music was replaced with someone shouting advertising in Vietnamese.
(post-swim hair – pre-massage relaxing – post-massage hair)
We then showered in the hotel pool facilities and ate dinner at a local restaurant. I ordered a beer to accompany the meal and Murray ordered a big bottle of water. When the drinks were placed in front of us both had their tops partially removed. No unexpected for a bottle of beer but Murray’s suspicion was raised and feared that the bottle could have been previously used and refilled with tap water. I didn’t totally share his concern, I had beer after all, but he was worried enough to ask for it to be swapped for a coke. Two lessons here kids; 1, don’t drink tap water in Vietnam and be cautious about bottled water that is unsealed, and 2, beer is the safer option, especially when they cost the same amount of money (.80c NZ).
One word to sum up Tam Coc, In-phuc-ingcredible. Sadly though it was time to leave and after negotiating a 100,000 fair with a taxi driver to Ga Ninh Binh (station) we collected our luggage and headed into the larger town. We were 3 hours too early for our 23.10 train from Ninh Binh to Hue but figured we had to be sitting around somewhere at a time past our normal trip bedtime so let’s have a change of scenery.
(Mr Phuc – hard at work – or he could be playing video games. Either way, a wonderful host)
As soon as we entered the main train station hall a wave of children rushed towards us. Having experienced child thieves in other parts of the world I was immediately on guard wondering what they wanted but this experience turned out to be one of the best things so far. The children are brought to the station by their mothers who leave their kids to it but always keep them under their watchful eye to keep them safe. These kids, who all seemed to be aged between about 8 and 12, emanated enthusiasm and a thirst for knowledge, they weren’t there to slide their tiny child fingers into our money belts, they wanted to pick our brains, not our pockets, and use us to enhance the English they study at school.
I was targeted by 10-year-old Phoung. She peppered me with questions like, my age, where I’m from, what I like to do in my free time, what are my hobbies, and what is my favourite music, all of which were great conversation starters. I learned that Phoung likes swimming and badminton, and she lives with her family, her two sisters and her parents. Her dad is an engineer (although she didn’t know what sort), her favourite music is American rap and she wants to be a teacher or a doctor. Meanwhile, Phoungs 12-year-old sister Lin had targeted Murray and he was showing her videos of the All Blacks on his phone. All in all a wonderful cultural exchange. If you’re ever leaving from Ninh Binh station make sure you allow enough time to chat to the kids and if you see Phoung, tell her I say hi.
(Me and Phoung. Murray and Lin)
After chatting for an hour we headed to a side waiting room with more comfortable chairs and a hostess who checks your tickets and will tell you when your train arrives. When booking this trip I conjured up the romantic imagery surrounding train journeys, the clickety-clack of steel on steel as you cruise through the countryside. The ability to get up and wander around, easy access to a bathroom and a dining car. Very quickly this notion was dashed when we boarded the SE1. Part of the Reunification Express which the government website describes as, ‘a series of trains and a route connecting Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City. It crosses more than a thousand bridges, dozens of tunnels, and more than 150 train stations, all repaired after the reunification of the northern and southern regions of Vietnam. The line was established during French colonial rule, and was completed over forty years, from 1899 to 1936 connecting the capitol Hanoi with Ho Chi Minh in the south and covering 1726km. Despite being heavily damaged in WWII and suffering from a lack of investment in its infrastructure, this year the Lonely Planet named the Reunification Express “one of Southeast Asia’s best-loved railways – and one of the most epic overnight train journeys in the world”. I wasn’t sharing their love as we boarded grubby carriage #7 and tried to not wake up our, already sleeping, roommates as we fumbled around in the dark trying to sort our luggage and settle down for the night on the rock-hard beds.
The train booking website is very easy to use Baolau.com and you can select your seats. I selected lower beds for both Murray and myself. In our younger days climbing up and down on the single fold-down step provided on either side of the door would have been okay, but not any longer. Being on the lower bunk means the bed is easy to get into, and get out of multiple times during the night when the swaying movement of the train convinces your middle-aged bladder it’s full and your brain says it must be emptied NOW and you sway down the corridor to the grubby toilet. The toilet is a western style one which is both good and bad. It’s what we are used to so we know what to do with it and bad as it seems a lot of the locals still don’t. Toilet paper was hit and miss (I always carry tissues) but the bum washer hose is always present. It seems some locals use it to clean the entire toilet after every use so often everything is sodden. This is where a squat toilet would actually feel more beneficial, you don’t have to touch anything.
I had my travel pillow, an eye mask and ear pods, all of which proved crucial to getting some sleep. The travel pillow was added to the pillow provided, for a bit more comfort, the eye mask blocked out the light that floods in each time the train stops along the way and through the ear pods I could listen to crime podcasts to help me get to sleep and give me ideas of what to do to our upper bunk buddies who started to annoy me at 5.45 am, this was the time the phone alarm of the young woman above me went off. She must be getting off soon, I thought to myself as I tried to get back to sleep. Both the upper bunk buddies then started taking and making calls and watching videos on their phones WITH NO EARPHONES.
7.04 am – still watching videos
7.11 am – I’ve long given up trying to get back to sleep and the host comes to tell them their stop is next.
An alarm set for 1.5 hours before their stop and they didn’t get off their bed until the moment the train pulled into their stations. To their credit, they seemed to not be bothered by my multiple nighttime excursions so maybe fairs fair.
Our train arrived a little after its expected 9.59 am arrival time. It’s time to hit Hue!
Gillian Scott Creative 