Trip to Ba be and Phu Tho

~Hannah~

                                                                      Ba Be
Well, I have had a lot of adventures at Babe lake and in Phu Tho. We had to drive about… EIGHT HOURS! that was a long trip  just to get to Babe Lake. That was a very long trip for me. I luckily slept a lot on the way there. AND we had a driver that did not know how to drive the car. It was his first day on the job! ALSO they gave him a very bad car that barely went up those mountain roads! When we got into a pretty good sized town,our driver asked someone something in Vietnamese.  My mom asked if we were lost, but our guide just said that we were not lost, he was just
asking for directions. After a LONG time we finally arrived at our home stay. But unlike our Home stay in Ta Phin, you were separated from the family, you did not get to befriend the family members. So we went with our guide to other home stays, (which were more like guest houses) but they were all full.We finally found one that had only four other people ( instead of maybe…11-14 people, counting us.) Also the people were nice at our new home stay. Mom,Sumner, Our guide ( Mr. Phong,) and I went on a pleasant bike ride around the area. We went to a place where some people were working in the rice field. Sumner and I got to cut some rice. It is pretty hard work, but yet fun,( at least for the few seconds I did it.) Then we headed back to the house ( not my house though,) for a delicious dinner. It included rice ( duh) pork, chicken,and some greens. Then we went to bed.
   I think the roosters are a little confused ( and crazy),because they started crowing at 1:00 in the morning instead of at the crack of dawn. and kept on crowing for a long time.
   The next morning we had those pancakes again. ( I told you before, they taste and feel like you are eating rubber!) So the Lady of the House asked if we wanted some fried rice. Sumner and I answered yes very enthusiastically. After breakfast we went on a boat ride on the lake with our guide. It was very pretty, so I think Sumner will put the pictures on the blog. ( At least i hope so.) First we went to a cave that had a million bats, and they dropped waste on us. I had to dig out my hat so that I would not get hit by it. After that we went to a very dangerous waterfall. Because they blocked of the dangerous part with a big wall of cement, bur tourists go past the cement another way, so they slip on the moss and fall in the water. People can not find their bodies because there is too much foam.Then we ate lunch at a local restaurant, and then headed back to the house. Before the meal Sumner and I played with the feather thing. Our driver joined in as well. He is  very good at the game, better than us at least! Finally after we got tired of playing, we went back to the house and got ready for dinner. We had a special dinner that night because we were going to eat with the family. Again we had a very good meal again, so I ate my fill and went to beddddd Sorry I am tired right now, so I probably should go to bed.
     
                                                           GOOD NIGHT!!!

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                                                             Phu To

So, after the yummy breakfast of fried rice,( much better than rubber cakes) and a little bit of banana pancakes.(Not rubbery, it was kind of like a funnel cake with banana’s in it.) When we finally got packed and all, we headed out in our rickety car. Oh, I forgot to tell you that the car wouldn’t start in the morning so while we were on the trip on the lake, he and another guy helped fix the car. But it did not work, so the owner of the car,(also the driver’s boss) had to take a public bus from Hanoi to Ba Be.( Remember way more than 8 hours on a crowded bus.) He got to the home stay at about…12:00 at night! I do not think that he was very happy at our driver. So the boss now was driving the car. Now Back to the story. We all started heading toward Phu Tho.1 hour…2 hours…And finally after 3 hours we arrived at a place to eat. The owners were so amazed at us that one of the ladies was pulling my hair! AND They were So fascinated by my braces(not surprised though.). For lunch we had the same old stuff, rice, meat, and vegetables. After the meal we headed back onto the road. Now I would like to tell you how I would like to explain the different divers. The first was very cautious about the road and the motorcycles and a little dangerous, while the other one was speedy and new the roads well. he would go at ( what it felt to me) 100 miles per hour on those bumpy roads. He looked like he was maybe two three inches from a big truck or motorcycle. Now after another 3 hours we FINALLY arrived in Phu Tho province. We drove a little ways into a pretty little town called Phu Tho. ( duh) Mr. Phong asked if Sumner wanted to go to the Ministry Of Justice. The Ministry Of Justice  was the place were Mom signed some papers that finished the adoption process. But when we got there, we found out that the actual place that mom signed the papers was in another town, but still in the province of Phu Tho. Then we went to the Clinic where supposedly Sumner was placed when his mom could not take care of him. We took some pictures of Sumner in front of the buildings. Then we headed out to the hotel. The hotel was a very dirty place ( according to us westerners.) For example of a bad hotel room, I was brushing my teeth when I turned on the water to wash my brush with,the water from the shower sprayed me. I almost got another shower! The next morning we went for another long car ride. Though not as long because it was an almost5 hour trip. We finally got back to our hotel we have stayed in for a while, so here is a poem I made up for the hotel.

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*                                                                       * BYE!!!