Three days, two adventures, and one rest day

A lot has happened.

First of all, the famous Bay of Hanoi. Taking a boat through the caves - see pictures.

Then Van really wanted to travel through Vietnam with one of the sleeper buses. She has seen them many times but has never used them. We are now taking a bus to Da-Nang. That's about in the middle of Vietnam.
The official travel time is 16 hours and 45 minutes. So it's longer than our flight from Switzerland to Hanoi.
First, we take a taxi to the central bus station in Ha-Long. Departure is at 2:30 PM. I have booked the three front seats so that we can see something.
About 80% of the possible seats are taken. There are three rows with two-storey sleeper bunks where I barely fit, but my arms are outside.

The seats are very comfortable and you actually lie down. With a pillow, you can comfortably look forward. So definitely much more comfortable than on an airplane. And there is no risk of thrombosis here because you have your legs much higher than in an airplane seat.
The buses are all the same. We suspect that they were all built by the government. But the companies are all private, or semi-private. Because it quickly became clear that lots of people were getting on along the way. Not officially. The floor becomes full of seated people. In the end, after collecting for 3 hours, there are definitely over 30 people.
Since the three of us only have to pay about 65.- CHF for this long journey, the gray people transport will surely be cheap enough for more layers of society to travel in Vietnam. Most people are going to work (for weeks) or to relatives.
It soon becomes clear that our bus is also a 'king of the road'. That means these coaches drive at high speed, usually around 80, at most 100. They are the ones that everything else has to make way for. That's why they honk all the time. But also informative (so not just honking randomly). Even trucks show consideration for the buses. New expensive cars seem to be futile against them.
It's like that in many other countries. The strongest have the most rights. The weakest traffic participants have the least rights.
And. Whoever is in front has to give way to the one behind, unless they are stronger in this hierarchy.
That means, during rush hour from 4:00 to 6:00 PM, there is congestion or slow-moving traffic everywhere. The buses constantly overtake in oncoming traffic, unless a truck is coming and can't make way. Even our bus and the first very nice driver are no exception. Apparently, they have practice in being able to estimate when it's safe to overtake.
When night falls, there is a break and a shift change for the drivers. The new driver is more cautious - we are constantly overtaken by other buses. I'm glad about that. This one drives until 3:00 AM. Then the old driver comes back. But now in the morning hours, there is little traffic and the bus cannot go faster than 100...
Every two to three hours, we had bathroom breaks, 5-10 minutes. And once, for half an hour during the shift change in the evening, we had time to eat at the restaurant at the bus service station.
Otherwise, there was nothing.
Very interesting people. I feel like I'm seeing the average population here. Teenagers who are traveling to relatives on vacation. Mother and child going to the grandmother's. Young people who have found a job and are traveling there, etc.
But no really old people. The young ones come to the old ones and not the other way around. Van is constantly being asked about me. And she can also get to know the people from North Vietnam this way.
Of course, we have some delay due to picking up the willing travelers. However, they only get off along the route. I have Google Maps on the whole time to see how we are driving...

We arrive at the 'Belle-Maison' hotel in Da-Nang at 7:00 AM. The room won't be ready until 2:00 PM. So we go to the local neighborhoods to eat. As always, Van knows exactly what's good. Then a jump to the beach and to the hotel's bar with about 20 types of fruit drinks and Frappuccinos.

The room will be ready at 1:00 PM. And oohh, it's a suite. I've tried to book something better here, but we were surprised that it's this good. 5 nights for 480.- CHF. This suite is a dream for us. Laura has her own room, etc., and I have a small workspace. See pictures. A dream. I would actually like to stay for more than 5 nights. But Van already has the next plans...
In the evening, we cruise through the city again on a motorbike. We discover a large market that is also intended for (Asian) tourists. But it feels very Vietnamese. We can only see about a quarter of the market and have a great dinner there. The chairs in the market restaurants are tiny. I always have to look for slightly larger ones so that I can sit down, despite lots of practice. All Vietnamese people are always happy to see such a large White person. Especially how I look on the tiny chair... But everyone is very helpful and extremely accommodating. We will probably come back every evening...

Well, today is just a rest day for us. We just went to the beach. It's also a dream, despite the many hotels with more than 30 floors. Few people on the beach. Very very fine sand. You have to go out more than 30 meters for the water to reach your chest. Van says that the beach is one of the top 10 in the world. It could be true. In any case, it's over 20 kilometers long and just as good as here. (We tried to drive it with the motorbike, taking more than half an hour)
At noon, we eat at a restaurant right on the beach and in front of the hotel. I counted over 50 aquariums that have fish and crabs ready to eat. But we simply eat various salads with a variety of seafood.

And now we are at the rooftop pool of the hotel on the 20th floor