Tuesday 20 April

After breakfast we said our farewells to the owner of the restaurant and her husband. They had enjoyed the change in routine. With just simple kitchen equipment they had prepared interesting typical Vietnamese dishes for us. To cook for Westerners was something new for both of them. But now they'll return to the normal way of life.

Right on schedule, the locals brought our luggage to the harbor on hand carts where the ship of the People's Committee was waiting at its berth. At 08.00 we departed on schedule. There were plenty of seats for everyone, which was a luxury this time across. The trip took just over two hours on calm seas. We arrived at the harbor of Dong Ha close to the large traffic bridge. Here Michal XV9DX said good-bye to the team and was picked up for the drive to his home in Hanoi.

A bus brought us to the the Me Kong hotel, which we had stayed at before. During the afternoon, everyone had free time to explore Dong Ha. We were quite fascinated with the local marketplace. What takes place there simply can't be described, for a Western European it's a completely different world.

In the early evening we said good-bye to Eddy, XV1X, Torsten, XV9TH and his wife Huong. They took a taxi to Hue and from there flew home to Hanoi.

    
3W6C Island Communications Team: Paul Schreier, AA1MI/HB9DST, Christina Toporitschnig, HB9BQW, Thomas Parthier, HB9BSH