Mixed feelings and mixed means of transportation

Today (19.01.2018) we checked out of the disgusting, sewer-smelling hostel at 8.00 am and ate a baguette with egg, salad, and chilli sauce on the street for 80 cents. Then we made our way to Ninh Binh and were taken to a bus stop by a Vietnamese with our giant backpacks on a motorbike. We waited there for a short while and then were picked up by a bus and traveled to the speedboat harbor with loud locals. There, we boarded the boat and sailed to the other side for 5 minutes. Then all the backpackers ran off and we stayed with the locals. We had no idea where to board and what to do. Suddenly someone approached us and asked: Haiphong? We said: Yes! So we got on the bus, but before that, we saw someone opening the loading compartment of the bus and a Vietnamese taking a live chicken out of the cargo hold in a plastic bag. We couldn't believe it :D Then we got on the bus and were dropped off somewhere in Haiphong and wanted to go to the bus station. A Vietnamese woman who spoke English helped us negotiate between us and the taxi drivers. We were taken to the train station, bought a ticket and waited until we could board the bus to Ninh Binh. The bus was so cramped and small that we had no room to put our legs. We traveled for 3 hours. It was brutal! It was terrible! Besides, the bus had an additional horn that echoed, and it must have been just as loud inside as outside. The first low point was when we arrived in Ninh Binh. I had had enough. We took a taxi and went to the hostel. After a round of crying, everything was fine again and we went across the street to eat spring rolls. The Vietnamese woman was so kind and concerned about me that we went to eat there again tonight and took a photo with her. Then we went back to the hostel and met a lot of nice people. We chatted until just now and now I'm really tired. There are 2 German girls in our room, 3 German guys who are traveling by motorbike, and 3 English people who are stereotypically always drunk. But it's fun. Tomorrow we're going to Vinh and then we'll have time to visit everything again.