Today we were obviously hoping for a fresh start! After a chat last night, our only realistic option would unfortunately be to miss out Sapa completely and head down south. The prices to get there were stupid and neither of us had the energy or inclination to trek... which is pretty much all you so there. I was still suffering with gut rot and Laura was struggling with intermittent but excruciating abdo pain ensuring she spent a lot of the evening and morning bent in two clutching her tummy. We both felt seeing a beach may be the only thing to save us! After breakfast I checked up on standard price tickets for heading to the city of Hue which was a 12 hour train ride. I knew the hotel were adding at least ten dollars commission so the only option would be to brave the circus that is the train station again... Hopefully this time with a better result!

We headed off for the forty minute walk to the station early and attempted the ticket system once more. After noticing the numbers were not even working we had to push our way in which Laura managed with a high degree of success... The girl is amazingly scary and determined when fed up and grumpy. She pushed through a group of locals even telling a guy "well if you move out the way so my boyfriend can pay we will be done a lot quicker"...not sure the guy knew what to make of that but did stop trying to push her out the way and moved. We then somehow managed to secure two seats on the night train to Hue as these were the only ones left (still got charged a slight premium for whatever reason?). We realised it is the Viet summer time so the locals pack the trains out to head to the coast. So even though we would be in a seat all night (albeit soft), at least we were finally able to leave Hanoi tonight. On leaving the station, after I religiously checked my change, I noticed the ticket destination was wrong! It was a ticket to Da Nang rather than Hue. Da Nang was a couple of hours further down the line and that is why it cost more! It was annoying as Laura definitely said 'Hue', but at least we could jump off at Hue if needed! I would not let this bother me now, it was all done and dusted... Plus as the day went on the thought of Danang and its beautiful beach got more and more appealing.

We returned to the hotel knowing we had a few hours to kill. I had managed to work up a bit of an appetite and had a noodle soup near the cathedral which was actually really refreshing. Normally helped by the amount of lime juice I put in it! We then headed for a cafe to kill some time, try and catch up on the blogs and enjoy ice cold drinks. During the afternoon my stomach had settled slightly and I just hoped it would hold out for me but poor Laura was in intermittent pain, unable to sit still and even vomiting a couple of times. Afternoon turned to dusk, dusk turned to night and I managed to eat some food before the train but at this point Laura couldn't stomach the smell and wandered back to the cool environment of the lobby.. We then somehow managed the forty min walk to the station where we were herded into a crowded waiting room full of Vietnamese people including a lot of families. A young girl was on duty checking tickets at the doors leading to the platforms and considering this girl was about four foot tall, she held her own against a lot of pushy men trying to barge through before admittance time. The usual Vietnamese rudeness and impatience was on full show here. We were both watching the clock amidst the madness waiting for 10pm to strike, when we would be allowed to board the train.

When 10pm did come the train was in front of us and spanned at least 15 carriages, it was a beast. We found our coach and showed the ticket to the guard to which he gave us a warm smile and showed us the way, my god... it has been so long to see a smile! This made us happier and we walked down the coach to our seats. Basically, soft seats are like airplane seats which tilt back a bit further. Luckily as one of the first on we fitted our bags on the overhead racks easily. The coach filled quickly with all Vietnamese of all ages and one western couple. The couple who sat in front of us looked at our bags, then us, with a little bit of contempt we could sense. By this point we had the 'first come, first serve mate' attitude and pretended not to notice. However, the man, who sat in front of Laura immediately threw his seat right back without any acknowledgement banging her legs. This had not been a great start to the 15 hour train ride ahead of us especially when he lit up a cigarette.

At 11pm the train started moving and headed south through the suburbs of Hanoi. The tracks followed the highway and at times you were so close to cars you felt you could reach out and touch them. After about an hour, as the stroke of midnight loomed, we again smelled tobacco smoke. Oh yes, the gentleman in front had lit another cigarette and was happily puffing away. Smoking in spite of the fact being in an sealed air conditioned coach with small children and babies on board..... I will say it...... A complete tosser. By now I had slight abdo pain and poor Laura was pale and sore, having not eaten and still being in pain despite painkillers. She had enough by now and popped a Diazapam hoping she would get some sleep.