October 10,

My back is better, but my hip woke me some last night, but better after session with TENS. We got around and had our Javas with breakfast of Muesli and yogurt. Then we packed and readied. Today we leave Hanoi and head North. By 1015, we caught a Grab taxi to our bus pickup area. As we are going around the lake, it is very crowded, due to the celebration. Today is the 70th year Celebration of Hanoi's Liberation from the French. So it is a big deal for the Vietnamese, especially the ones here in Hanoi. Most everyone is donning the red and/or gold colors of their flag. the people are out in the road, blocking at least one lane of traffic. It is a zoo.

We finally arrived – at 1035 – five minutes late from the 1030 they wanted us there for the 1100 transport. It was only 0.4 of a mile journey, but due to one way ring road around the lake, the taxi has to go 1.2 miles. But that 1.2 miles took us 20 minutes! We are booked on a “limousine-van” to go further north, to the town of Cao Bang. Two vans pulled up at 1100 and we got sorted out which one was ours, and loaded up. We are going to be on the van around seven hours. Another couple is with us – they are British, Rachel and Sam. We talked with them off and on throughout the trip. Hailing from London, they quit their jobs and are traveling for a year or until their money runs out. They have only been married since May '23. Sam is 6' 6.5'' tall, BTW, and Rachel must be 5'9″. I feel like giant next to many Vietnamese, they must feel like Goliath! We also picked up four more passengers and a box, before we left town.

The drive is scenic, as there are Karst mountain-like peaks all along the way that our road snakes through and over. Our driver is young, but a good driver. But he does use the van's horn a bunch. The horn has a reverbating trill, which is actually a neat horn sound. Now we saw small tea rows – the start of a tea plantation, or individual crops – not sure which, but was great to see some. We also saw quite a bit of corn – high as an elephants eye (I could not resist); rice paddies – some of which had recently been harvested with the rest close to ready; Water Buffalo foraging in those paddies, and lots of tree harvesting. The trees had been shaved to wood planks or sliced very thin for veneer sheets or to make into plywood slabs, curing in the sun.

We also came through some recent landslides – this area was hit by rain. Some of the road we're on follows a river, the Song Cau. It is running at a good clip – don't know if this is normal. It is very brown from all the silt it collects. The road we are using is in decent shape considering the many “lories” (as our British couple call them) that use it. There are signs warning – “Dangerous long slope, use low gear”. Also on sharp outer curves there may be a guard rail, or more serious – a line of metal posts enclosed by 5-6 stacked tires on each post and then filled with cement!! Yikes! We went through two passes – maybe, one for sure. During the trip our driver pulled over for three toilet stops – that is not our normal experience, but very thoughtful.

We arrived into Cao Bang, and our driver dropped everyone off at their destination! We were last off at our hotel, Max Boutique — it was 1740. We checked in, unloaded our stuff, and went out for supper. We found Pedro's Pizza and knew that was dinner. We ordered a 12″ Salmon and capers pizza; a 9″ Salami and black olives pizza; and a tea & a Siagon beer. The salmon one was better – glad it was the bigger one. Paid 365k Dong ($14.69). We went to a local place and bought a 5 liter water then back to our place. We are on the fifth floor here. I blogged and Jeff read. Plan on early bed – nothing like a travel day and a full belly to tire you!!