Day 18: Sleeper train from Hanoi to Danang

Having had a great night sleep we were actually wide awake at 6.30am which is unheard of. Buffet breakfast at 7am then picked up by our taxi to the boat at 8am. When we arrived at the bay there were herds of people leaving for Hanoi and we feared that we would all be crammed onto boats together.

However, while everyone else was treated this way, we were led to our own boat just the two of us. To get on our boat we had to jump across three other boats. The first couple were relatively simple compared to the third which was quite comical as the boats were held together with rope which snapped and spread apart while Kris was straddled. He just managed to drag himself over to safety while I was stranded on the second boat. By this point we had quite an audience which found the whole thing quite amusing! After several minutes and adjustments from the captain I managed to jump across which was rewarded with a round of applause from the crowd.
We spread out and soaked up the surroundings for the hour long journey to meet the white dolphin boat half way to the bay. A smooth transfer between boats and we dined for lunch with a couple from Australia. We got back to the mainland at 1pm and hopped on the bus to Hanoi. We arrived and went for a pizza lunch that we had been craving after all the seafood. We met Brenda and Kevin in ET Pumpkin at 6pm and got our free taxi to the train station.

We boarded the train in our luxury cabin with air con, sweets, soft beds and a western loo what more can a traveller ask for! The four of us swapped stories and photos and cameras and contact numbers, played chess and had a few beers until late. Brenda and I went in search of the bar carriage and having ventured into the engine room and being shouted at we went the other direction for 12 carriages until we found it. This journey was an experience in itself and not the nicest! It made us realise just how nice our cabin is apart from the cockroach that we just found on the bed.