Pearls and Local Cuisine

Wednesday we had the option of getting up at 6:15 for Tai Chi on the upper deck- it sounded like a good plan- but we never made it up. The Watkins did – but we just needed a little more sleep and a shower. We were not sure when we would next shower- so we showered and pack our bags as there was a 6:45 light breakfast and then a trip to the Tien Ong Cave at 7:15. The coffee and toast was good and then we loaded onto the small boat and hopped over to the cave. It was a relatively small cave but impressive in height and artifacts. It seems to have been used for 1000’s of years by the local fishermen as a place of refuge agains the storms that can come through the bay. We spent about 45 minutes at the cave then we were back out the boat. A traditional Vietnamese tea ceremony was next and then it was time to pack and leave the luggage outside our room. The boat was making it’s way back to the mainland and we were sad to be leaving this world heritage site- just to beautiful to even try and capture on film. Packed and back up to the dinning room and our last meal on board. Another feast- more breakfast items as well as stews, seafood and pho. Before we knew it we were back at the harbour and disembarking. Sad to say goodbye to this place, but what a memory we will have. Vinny was there and we were back on the bus and headed to Hanoi.
We stopped a few minutes later at a pearl factory- a wonderful tour was given as we learnt how they make cultured pearls- what an amazing thing this process is. After another 1.5 hours no the bus we stopped at a local village where Vinny showed us around and we learnt a lot about locals traditions and customs. This was followed by another huge local meal- still full from brunch on the boat we weren’t sure where we would put it all- but we managed! Salad, spring rolls, fried veggies, pork, tofu and fish (so much food)! Then back to the bus and we had another 2.5 hour drive back to Hanoi. Vinny dropped us at the water front as we had a little time to spare and we ambled around the streets for an hour and half and then we were off to the station and in search of our train to Hue.
We boarded the Livitrans train at 6:30 and had a 7:30 departure. The train was smaller than the trains in Europe for sure but do-able for one night. We settled in and clackety clacked out of Hanoi- until next time.