Riding through green rice field lowlands from Hanoi to Hue, edged on the horizon or nearer at time by mountain karstes. At Hue Apparently there are historical sights to see, Lots of tourists got off at Nimh Binh, less touristy than Ha Long Bay below.

Unable to really capture the amazing scenes of Ha Long Bay, near Hanoi but this was my screensaver and one of my pictures to motivate and develop my life long travel plans!

The scenery is lovely, with grazing cows and buffalo, one herd of twenty or so, ducks and water ponds. Workers in straw conical hats, some thigh deep in rice field water, others bending and cutting by hand, yet more cutting with a machine. A gateway appeared in the distant mountains, too far to se clearly but man,ade square cut although grey and blending in.  Real life water buffalo pulling a basic wooden plough in the rice fields full of water…

Usually slow and laborious, I have seen running and playfull buffalo bith young and full grown!

There were woods earlier that could have been English countryside, and now banana trees edging the railway; a cemetery or lone graves in ponds, factories too – tall and thin ( probably charged by ground meterage so build up as the Aussie woman suggested). Lily ponds appear sporadically, a few ibis at one point but few birds really. Two baby buffalo running and jumping around together, looking happy and enjoying life!

Hanoi has tall thin buildings for houses and factories, maybe as they pay for land meterage

Small villages sprout up, near stations or further out, paths and simple roads leading to who knows where!!! Distant towns backed by hills, fronted by rice fields with animal life always too. Some big houses at times,but always changing, buffalo walking, grazing or bathing, cows watching us go by, ducks waddling in and out of the water or workers wandering, standing watching, herding or working hard and probably uncomfortably i. full gear of long sleeves, hats, hoods and masks over pants and wellies. Hot stuff!!!