Sunday Jan 28

Today was a very wet day.  Although it seemed like just a sprinkle when we left the hotel, it turned into a constant downpour throughout the day.  Of course, that didn't stop us, and we headed out on our walk along the country roads interlaced with small villages and canals and rivers.  

We had our weatherproof gear, plus B&R-supplied ponchos, but we quickly got soaked through.  The paths were paved, so not terribly muddy, but the puddles were so deep in places that it was impossible to not get your feet thoroughly soaked.  By the end, I was walking to the squish squish feeling of feet in boot-puddles.

Eventually we got to a dock where we boarded a dragon boat down the Perfume River.  We had a feast on the boat while we cruised.  The destination was a tomb from the emperor Minh Mang, which was a series of lovely pavilions, which some of us toured in spite of the ongoing downpour.

We've now returned to the hotel with the afternoon hike cancelled, and a hot bath on the agenda instead.

B&R is a pretty high service operation.  They have 4 vans and 3 guides (one Italian, one French and one Vietnamese) for our group of 21.  This means that you can summon a van and go back whenever you want.  As Quyen, our Vietnamese guide, said, "we have Plan A, Plan B, Plan C and Plan D".  

There's one guy on a motorcycle who travels with us with drinks and snacks.  He stops ahead of us and then cheerily holds up a beer as we round the corner.  When I saw him yesterday, it seemed like he was just a kind local guy there to make tourists happy.  Then, last night our guides explained that he is actually Our Guy, who goes with us to meet our needs.  The thing I like most about Our Guy is that every time I see him, he is counting us.  This makes me relax that I don't have to keep an eye out for the rest of our group because Our Guy knows where everybody is.

Donna