October 10, 2004 The Reunification Express to Saigon, Vietnam
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The second day of Hailong Bay was indeed pointless. We went to Cat Ba island, where a large contigent of Isrelei backpackers embarked, then immediately headed back, stopping for 30 minutes to swim en route. I'm not happy, because the travel agent said we would kayak, but all we did was sit on the boat. It was very boring
We got back to Hailong City at noon, had a mediocre lunch, then bused back to Hanoi, arriving at 5.
I stupidly bought my ticket for the 11 pm train, so I had a ton of time to kill. So I drank beer. Just as it was time to leave, things started getting crazy. Today is the 50th anniversary of the liberation of Hanoi from the French, so the entire city was out and about. The streets were packed with people watching a big fireworks display, making it difficult for my motorcycle driver.
It's another night on the train. Luckily, the soft sleeper class is very comfortable, and I sleep very well on it.