Quang Binh

Arriving at Hoi An train station, our first contact with trains Vietnamese, it was quite confusing as to how the system works. There is one waiting room with one locked door that leads out to where the trains come and go. There are no platforms just railway lines set in concrete. The ticket states which carriage you are in, which cabin you are in and your seat number. The door is unlocked when the train approaches. Our carriage in this instance was way out of the station area and quite a long walk to get to it. Having no platforms it is a huge step up to get into the cabin and to get 20kg bags in as well takes some strategic planning. The guards refuse to help and Vietnamese men expect the women to do this anyway so are not forthcoming either. However Gary and I managed and set off to find our seats. It was nice - a 4 berth sleeping cabin all to ourselves. We were travelling during daylight so did not sleep and we passed through some wonderful countryside. It is the time of year when the rice paddies are being prepared in readiness for the monsoon season so vast amounts of different work was to be seen. Oxen ploughing, women planting and hoeing, men burning off the stubble and children helping too. We travelled through small villages boasting shacks for houses with haystacks in the garden. Life is hard in rural Vietnam and we wonder whether they are just existing rather than enjoying life. They are happy people though. I guess if they have warmth, food and shelter they are content. Arriving in Quang Binh we headed by taxi to our hotel - brand new 68 hotel. The main reason for this stop is to visit the Paradise Caves here and we are staying just 2 nights as to be honest there is nothing else to be seen here even in the township. There is not even a restaurant. The caves are relatively newly discovered (2005) and the town is only just gearing up for tourism. So we arrive and immediately see there is a flight of stairs to get our bags up. Whilst Gary pays the taxi driver I discover a lift from the underground garage. Pressing the button we wait and wait and wait ...........it is stuck on the upper floor. (This lift later was to scare the life out of me.) GIving up we made for the stairs and on reaching the top we were greeted by a lovely young lady speaking English. This is good because we need to book our tour for the caves - later though - and our next train to Ninh Binh. We are shown to our room by her husband and explore our new surroundings. Very nice until we hit the bathroom. The bathroom is completely tiled and a huge feature tile is of a partially naked lady in a suggestive pose. I am sure Gary would have been happy to see her each time he used the bathroom but I just couldn't see the need for it or the reason behind it being in a tourist hotel. Anyway after a tour of the hotel we were upgraded to a very expensive VIP suite. They have had very few Europeans staying here and get quite nervous when Europeans book so were keen to keep us happy. Unfortunately the young lady was the only staff who spoke any English and we wondered whether we were the only guests there as well. Each time we used the lift, we were on the 4th floor, Gary had to manually finish closing the doors. This often took a couple of efforts as the doors were stronger than Gary. On one occassion we were in the lift and it stopped between floors. With my "what if" personality I experienced sheer terror but Gary found the emergency speaker button and after a while the lift reset itself and we started to ascend again. They explained it as a power cut but the next day the lift was serviced and even the doors closed by themselves after that. MCIver could have a rest. With our cave tour booked for the following day - a minivan from Hoi An was to pick us up - we left the train booking in her capable hands for the day after. Next morning we arrived for breakfast which was just awful. We had had a very mediocre meal in the hotel restaurant the night before but this was terrible. They were doing their best but were very inexperienced in the guest trade. We had a conversation with them and the next day was a vast improvement. We had met the chef in the lift and he had shown us that he had been out shopping and brought jam and cheese and fruit etc. It was good they had taken note of all our suggestions and acted on them. Time will tell whether they survive or not. Next day we were picked up on time for our tour and how amazing that tour was. The guide was awesome, lunch was awesome and the caves were incredible. We have both seen some beautiful caves in our travels but these topped the lot. The 2 hour trip there and the long trek to the top of the mountain was well worth it. Being newly discovered it was pristine with no glaring coloured lights or any form of commercialism. Just a wooden boardwalk through the first km but the entire length of the cave is 31kms. Another 7kms can be visited but you have to swim part way and crawl on your belly for a distance too. We had limited time so 1km was sufficient and we were still half an hour late getting back to the bus after descending 502 steps to get down. Only 3 of us from the tour went to the Paradise Caves, all the rest went to an older more commercialised cave and didn't seem to come away with the same buzz. Good decision Gary!!!!!! After the return 2 hour journey to our hotel we walked in to be greeted with "I have some bad news for you" OMG what now? Unable to book the sleeper train at the time we had requested she had not booked anything!!!!!!! Sending her husband to the station to book anything that was available as we had to leave the next day regardless and this was the only mode of transport available she waited for his phone call. Good - sleeper train booked - leaves at 2.15pm, travel overnight, reach Ninh Bin 1.30am. Downside: this was a "hard sleeper" ( no need to explain that) and a 6 berth cabin. Ok that's fine we have no choice anyway. Well the ticket was booked but..........to Hanoi not Ninh Bin.......back to the station for said husband to change ticket. OK done. Half way home he realises he hasn't booked a foreigner ticket...........back to station for said husband. We had paid 100,000VND for them to book the tickets and each change cost them 75,000. She was ropable with him but nice too. It was a sad situation as they had a 14month old daughter who was being brought up by her parents and who they only saw once every few months as they had to work to exist. She was pregnant with their second child. We felt really sorry for them and they were a lovely couple. We gave them the I Pad cover that I got with my keyboard which of course doesn't fit the Samsung. He was wrapped with it and that made everything worthwhile. It wasn't the perfect stay but we were pleased we made this out of the way, off the beaten track stop. FIgure we were possibly the only tourists in town. Bye for now. Next blog our incredible train trip from Quang Bin to Ninh Binh................can't wait to blog about that one.