Well we woke up early as we had a few things to pick up before heading off to the local bus to get back to Danang. We say bye to Mascha and get to the bus just as it was rolling away. By chance it was the same one as the trip in. It started a lot slower, but soon became a racing, honking, yellow bullet through the crowded streets. At one point we picked up a full load of school kids which added to the craziness. We were able to communicate that we wanted off at the train station (or as close as possible) through some “bumpy bumpy bumpy” and hand motions from the Vietnamese guys. It ended up being a lot closer than when we left… good to know “for next time.”

We had some food, as we finally were confident we had some time before the train left, and then we shuffled on to see what awaited us. Hard sleepers on a new train, after being told repeatedly that you wouldn’t be able to sleep at all, made us just a little apprehensive. When we got in there, it was perfect. No different than China, except there were only us in the cabin for the first 6 hours or so. We played some cards (golf has replaced asshole as the game of choice) and then tried to have a bit of a nap. Eventually we got some Vietnamese cabin mates and we all were forced up into our beds. 2 top and 1 middle bunk. We slept on and off, but it was so hot, you were never really asleep.

To be continued…