We didn't count on the rain. It rained so heavily in Hanoi that day that the city was flooded. We had already heard that the road to the train station was under water and accessible only by motorcycle. But a motorcycle was not very practical for us with our luggage in the pouring rain. Needless to say, there were no taxis on call. A fellow traveler took charge, commandered a taxi in the street, and four of us were soon squeezed in and on our way. However, as we approached the station, we found that the stories were true, the taxi driver didn't want to get close to either the high water or the traffic jam at the entrance. So he dropped us a block away. We had to get out and wade the last 100 meters under the pouring rain with bags held high, and water at knee level. We were drenched when we got on the train. As it turned out, we had plenty of time to dry off.
7, 8, 9pm, the train was not moving. Around 10pm somebody informed us that the train was no going to travel that night due to the flood, and that we had been locked inside the train for our safety. We were too sleepy to ask more questions, and the rain outside was too heavy to even think of going anywhere. Consequently, we made ourselves comfortable in our beds; sheets and cover were provided.
Around 2am the train started moving. Slowly and swinging a lot from side to side. Instead of taking 12 hours and arriving at 7am with a full day in Hue ahead of us, the ride took 18 hours. The "overnight" train did not arrive in Hue until 8pm the next day. The weather was at least partly to blame. As we traveled south from Hanoi, we saw many areas of countryside devastated by floodwaters. This surely doesn't happen every day.
Consequently, we'll have to wait until tomorrow to discover Hue. In the meantime, we made ourselves comfortable at the Sports Hotel in Hue. We are praying for no rain.
Mercedes y Simon
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