CAPTAIN SLOG STARDATE 342.16



Well yes, it was a good sleep despite the AC, I woke around 6am and peering through the curtain, I could see that morning was being announced.  On opening my door I noticed four supine crew members curled up under duvets. I tried to tiptoe, I honestly did but they still all grunted and turned over. Sorry chaps!

Then I realised why. I was the fourth person to try and tiptoe through and clonk up the steep stairs to the top deck.   Celia, Mirella and Paula were all there, cameras at the ready. What none of us had built into the equation was the fact that the sun was due to rise around 6.30, fine. However the presence of huge, looming lumps of limestone meant that the sun would not actually be visible for at least another hour, although there were a few wisps of pink in the early morning clouds. Nevertheless it was still rewarding to enjoy the start of another beautiful day in a stunning setting. It's good to be alive on days like this.

Finally the crew surfaced from their cocoons of flowery duvets and made us some lovely strong coffee which we enjoyed on the top deck, whilst surrounded by peace and tranquility. Personally I would have been happy to spend another night there and I don't think I was alone in that. 

Breakfast was another huge meal with bacon, fried eggs, toast, yoghurt, fresh fruit, cheese, the list goes on and on. Apparently most tour companies charge extra for this stay but Exodus, bless them, have built it into the total cost, good on them.

However, although very plentiful, maybe it was chef's day off, it was bacon and eggs but a bit cool and congealed. Anyway, the coffee was good and we had definitely eaten well the day before.

We got underway half way through the toast and jam, but very slowly as all the other boats were heading back to port as well. 

It was suddenly announced, without warning that the tender was taking us off to visit the island of Ti Top where there are quite a lot of steps to climb up to a viewpoint from a pagoda on stilts at the highest point of the island. I didn't bother going up as time was limited and the old knees don't work as well as they used to, so I just sat and people-watched, one of my favourite pastimes!

It was a very short stay and I don't really feel I missed anything by not knackering my knees. 

The boat slowly made its way back to port and there was our trusty Hyundai bus waiting for us to take us back to Hanoi. The plan was that we would stop for lunch at a charitable establishment where they train the unfortunate people who have been affected by the use of the defoliant chemical Agent Orange. Being in close proximity to this chemical has resulted in birth defects through successive generations. People who are affected are trained by the charity to do exquiste embroidery, pottery, create laquered pictures,etc which are sold in the showroom.

 However before we could get there the bus ground to a halt in the middle of a sleepy little village and there we stayed for an hour or more. As usual, once the traffic starts moving, there was no sign of an accident or anything, just the fact that there was far too much traffic and roadworks had closed part of the road.


There was no sign of the police, I figure maybe traffic control is beneath them as they may get their snazzy uniforms a bit dusty.


As a result we were late arriving at the shop and had a late but very cheap lunch. I think it cost about £2 for a meal and a beer. I found a couple of pictures for my lounge but they were both slightly damaged so I didn't buy anything. I think maybe everyone else did though.

We arrived later than planned back into Hanoi only to find that we had all beeen given the same rooms again, so I guess they weren't very busy. We were off to eat Vietnamese Hotpot that night. Do not mistake this for the good old Lancashire Hotpot. Again this is street food, sat on teeny little plastic stools, about 9 inches off the ground.

Vietnamese street catering is weird. Each street food establishment,usually only makes one item of food. This makes ordering really simple!! For example,e they may make the dreaded chicken Pho , next door may be pork broth, another may sell beer. 

 I hesitate to say restaurant as they usually consist of a couple of stools with hardboard on top
There is a calor gas cylinder and a one burner stove. . They just keep throwing out more stools onto the pavements and you can order food from anywhere and eat it at any table. They are certainly not prissy about whose bit of pavement you're sat on.

The other weird thing is the lack of rubbish bins. Everything unwanted from dead flowers to fish heads is thrown onto the side of the road. The street cleaners come along at various times and sweep it all into their refuse cart which is very small. At the same time they blast out government propaganda about keeping Vietnam beautiful . 

So back to the Hotpot. It was just around the corner from the hotel. So we all perched on these funny little stools, I was actually on the step of a shop, not a night for white trousers! Luckily I was sporting my black Gloria Vanderbilts.

They use hexamine for fuel in a round tablet form and pop it into the burner. Once lit, along comes a pan of pre made broth. Once this is boiling, you start adding your ingredients. Fish, prawns, chicken, puppy testicles - aka very firm meatballs, beef, chinese cabbage, and Morning Glory leaves, along with mushrooms, which are actually a fungus that grows on rotting wood..

You let this all bubble and boil for a while then spoon out your chosen bits into a bowl, later on you can mop up all the juice with a kind of crispy fried donut thing before adding noodles to the pot and eating even more. All washed down very liberally with the local bottled beer. If you run out of food, you just ask for more, it doesn't cost anything extra.

The total cost was about £2.50. Bargain!

Bit of an early night though tonight as it had been a long day and we were off to Da Nang and Hoi An next day.