My room on the “junk” was as nice as any hotel. The boat was definitely no garbage scow and the meals they served could have come from any classy restaurant in Hanoi. I slept really well and was ready to tackle today’s adventures.
The first one was a boat ride to Song Sot cave where we joined members from many of the other boats in the armada to trek through this amazingly big cave. The ceiling of the cave was formed by wave action over millions of years so it looked like icing atop a cake. You could actually tell the direction of the waves in some sections.
Back to our boat to shower and pack up and enjoy yet another wonderful meal. This one had crab cakes wrapped around sugar cane twigs along with a number of other beautifully presented dishes.
We disembarked our junk and onto the bus to head back to Hanoi. Along the way we stopped at a pearl factory. We were given a live demonstration of cultured pearl production. It was fascinating to watch someone place the irritants taken from another oyster along with a rounded piece of shell into the reproductive organs of an oyster and then to see the final result that would appear a couple of years later.
Back in Hanoi we broke into splinter groups. Some went to see the water-puppet display. I went along with Nina, Dave, Paras and Vikesh to check out the Ho Lan prison where John McCain had been held. It was a terrifying place built by the French in 1896 to restrain the incalcitrant Vietnamese. It is a sad testament to the inhumanity in humanity.
Back to the hotel to get organized for the overnight train to Hue. We stocked up on wine to enhance the adventure. Now I am in the lower bunk of a four-bed room trying to type as the train rocks from side to side. I have had a number of glasses of wine and I’m not sure whether that is helping or hindering. Above me sleeps my CEO and in the other two bunks are a couple from another G-Adventures tour. I wonder how much sleep we’ll get.