We had to make a dash back to the markets as we found a small split in one of the seams of Sue's dresses. As we were walking out, there was our clothes lady having brekkie at the cafe next to the hotel. She spotted us & waved, took the dress for us & will drop it back to the hotel in an hour. She suggested that the popped seam was because Sue pulled too hard getting the dress on but we don't think that was the case. We were all just relieved that we didn't have to run the gauntlet again with all the hawkers.

Our driver arrived on time and we set off to the Denang train station. The Buffalo Tours people had arranged the driver and the train tickets for us but we were stepping into the unknown a little bit with this one. We've heard polar opposites on our plan to travel via train from Danang to Hue via train, everything from "yes that will be nice, you'll enjoy that" through to "Eeew! Why wouldn't you just get a driver?" It was another experience (good or bad) that we wanted to chalk up. There were other foreigners at the train station (mainly backpackers) so we knew we weren't too far off the beaten track.

When we arrived, the driver spoke to the porters for us and they bundled us and the luggage into the waiting area. When the train arrived, they whisked the trolleys along the platform presumably to our carriage. Steve raced on ahead to make sure they didn't disappear or load them on the wrong carriage. They helped us inside with it and we crammed the overstuffed suitcases into the overhead racks. They only just squeezed in! They took 60,000 dong for their effort (about $2.70).

We were a bit disappointed that the windows had a steel grill over them because we wanted to take video and photo's. The next carriage along had big clear windows so we suspect that the booking agent either didn't know or we got a lower class ticket. They have about 4 type ranging from a hard wooden seat with no airconditioning, right up to a sleeper cabin with a lay down bunk. Our seats were "soft seats" in and aircon carriage but we'd have paid the extra for the clear window.

The moment the train lurged forward we knew we were in trouble... the seats we were sitting in were facing backwards so Sue was not going to have a very good trip. No looking out the window to enjoy the scenery for her. It was either focus on the roof or go to sleep. Daniel didn't give two hoots. He had his face stuck in the ipod playing games the whole time.

Steve managed to find a spot between the carriages that had a small window that slid down. He went back and forth from time to time to snap a few scenic shots. Unfortunately he didn't notice this until the best scenes were already past. The guy a few seats up had carried his cigarette into the car which certainly didn't help Sue's stomach any. Fortunately it only happened once. Some Vietnamese guys were drinking beer and having a good time. At one point they were chewing on dried squid or fish which was very pungent and didn't help with Sue's queasiness.

We finally arrived at Hue (pronounced "hway") and did battle getting the luggage off the train. Sue had pretty much decided from the start that this had been a bad idea. Having said that, we all agreed that had booked a sleeper it my have been a completely different trip.

The cabbies were milling out the front and we loaded the luggage in. Steve asked about the price to get us to the hotel and the reply was $6. This was a bit unexpected because the lady at Buffalo tours suggested the cab fare would be about $2. Steve argued the point but another cabbie stepped in and said yes, its $6. We conceded to pay just to get to the hotel but we're pretty sure this was our first real price gouging experience in Vietnam. The trip was very short and the same length taxi ride in Delat a few days earlier had only totalled $1.50.

The Century Riverside Hotel is probably about 20 years past its prime but we've stayed in worse. Its right on the river so has very nice views across the water. Daniel is happy because there is a pool. We were planning to have dinner in the hotel bar but when Sue was unable to get a glass of wine without paying $27.00 for a whole bottle of the house rotgut, we decided to cut our losses and go across the road. The restaurant staff seemed as tired as the hotel itself. The one thing it has going for it is that the power points stay on after removing the room card which means we can charge our electronic devices without being in the room. Haven't had that since The Rex in Saigon.

The DMZ Bar across the road is very popular with foreigners and especially backpackers. We went upstairs and ordered cocktails but forgot to ask about the credit card situation. The waitress came back with bad news... no credit card facilities at the moment so we had to chip away at the little cash we had left and look further afield. The next restaurant was happy to take credit cards so we settled in with an upstairs view of the street. Dinner was good and we went downstairs to settle the bill.

Things went a little pear-shaped from there. First attempt to put in the PIN for the credit card seemed strange. It was only accepting 4 digits and there was a message indicating that the terminal was locked. The restaurant lady implied that it was our card at fault. Steve showed her that the error message on the terminal appeared even before they swiped my card so they rang the bank. The banks suggested solution... withdraw the cash from our credit card. WHAT???? at 25% interest? No way! There were discussions in broken English between Steve and the bank. Sue looked like a storm cloud brewing before Steve reminded her of the quote the couple we met in Hoi An had told us a few days earlier - "In Asia, everything works out ok in the end".

Finally the restaurant lady spoke with the bank and determined that their eftpos terminal had been shut down for system upgrades at the bank. The lady was most apologetic and agreed to let us go and we could come back tomorrow to pay it. No checking our ID or even asking where we were staying. We were gobsmacked. The only reason why we think they did this is because they realised it was their fault (well, their banks fault) and they were embarassed about it. For all they know we could be leaving in the morning.

Footnote: The Vietnamese women all refer to Daniel as "boy". We've started following suit. He hates it.