October 19,

Today is our niece's Wedding —- CONGRATULATIONS to them!!!

This morning we had our Javas and breakfast of those lovely crepes and honey; a fried egg; and sliced pineapple & more bananas. I missed the mango, but the pineapple was good. Today we leave Ba Be Lake by bus. Our pickup time was 1330. So we watched some You tube and passed the morning – we had some catching up to do.

Our bus was on time. The hotel has a luggage conveyor system. That was nice to not have to carry it down those steps – it is at least 3 floors worth to get up!! Anyway we loaded up into the bus. We joined two ladies from Singapore, going back to Hanoi also. One of them had gotten a photo of our luggage. I asked her to share it with me, and she obliged. We connected on WhatsApp.

The trip was along secondary roads and went to even smaller ones. The bus stops and picks up packages, bags of veggies, a 110 # of rice, and even some “yeast wine”. Oh yeah and we actually pick up more people. It is unlike anything in the US – kind of a crazy transportation system. One stop we were waiting for a pick up of some sort when a saw a girl receive a bouquet of flowers from boy. They were both kind of bashful and blushing. So Young! That girl and her mom boarded the bus. They were our pick up! Later, I talked with the girl through Google translation — it was not proposal. I had weddings on my mind because of my niece. Anyway, she was again blushing/embarrassed when she answered.
Of course there was construction on the way. All manner of road works, with lots of JCB's and KOMAT'SU's, some for landslides. Then we came to a section of major work, a new big road going in. We were diverted and had to go down a steep, scary, no-edge dirt bypass into a valley, because the tall bridge was not completed yet. Scary, nerve-racking stuff! Jeff said it reminded him of some scenes from Romancing the Stone. I did comment, “AIY, AIY, AIY”, to the driver after we were through – that made him smile. The one Singapore lady said I spoke his language — LOL!

Then we came up to KOMAT'SU loading a dump truck with dirt and had to wait – 5 to 10 minutes – on a dirt one way road until it was full. When the dump truck moved, we started and another truck was coming. The other truck stopped to give way, backing up … it got stuck. Uh oh!! All the men – X3 – in our vehicle, and eventually, the two construction guys went to help. They all worked pushing, shoveling, and rocking — finally the truck moved and was freed. Our bus driver had taken over driving the other vehicle. We women applauded “our” menfolk when they returned. It was amazing! The one Singapore lady got a video and sent it to me. Wowza!!! Stories of Vietnam.

Around 1630 we had a pit stop. At 1700 the bus was full of people and goods. 1740 or so we pulled into parking lot off the road and the Singapore ladies and us changed to another bus.

Then as we arrive into Hanoi it is dark. We reached the end of the line, so to speak about 1840, and unloaded – what an adventure that was! Jeff called us a Grab and we arrived at our hotel, Trang Trang Boutique by 1855. We unloaded and went out for a bite to eat. The reception girl gave us a recommendation. We went there – Duc Long Banh My Doner Kebab. We had a Doner Kebab and a Salad Kebab. Very good and satisfying!

We walked around a bit, to get reoriented to Hanoi and the busy, bustling of old town. Back to our place and bed by 2200 with earplugs!