This will be posted late because I don’t have internet on the train, but I wanted to record my first impressions of the Vietnamese sleeper train.
We got to the train station very quickly by cab – it was only a few kilometers away. The station was quite different from what we are used to. In China, one needs to go through security just to enter the station plaza; then through ticket control with passport to enter the station; then all bags get x-rayed and bodies scanned; another ticket check to gain access to the platform; ticket check to enter the train carriage; and finally ticket collection for the duration of the trip if on a sleeper car. In Vietnam? We just walked into the station which was eerily empty compared to the heaving masses in China. No lines at the tickets booth; in fact, no one buying tickets at all! Our train was sitting on the track in front of us, so we got on. They checked our tickets just once, as we got on the car, no ID needed, and we found our berths.
At first, I was annoyed. I thought we had bought “soft-sleeper” beds, but our car was “hard-sleeper.” The difference is not really in the hardness of the beds but in the number in each berth. We have six beds, three on each side, and I thought we would have only four. This means the hotel manager, our travel agent, pocketed a bigger commission than I had thought. By the time he left Hanoi, though, no one had joined us in our berth, and unlike Chinese hard-sleepers our berth has a lockable door, so we have effectively a private cabin. With the A/C on even though it is 50 degrees out, it is a good thing no one else has come as we each are using two blankets to stay warm. This could be quite a pleasant journey; it is certainly off to a good start. I hope I don’t need to amend this when more people board the train later. For now, our door is closed and locked.
I don’t know if this is a legacy of Vietnam’s colonial past, but the train’s toilet is western, not squat. In fact, I’ve only seen squat toilets once these few days in Vietnam, at the lunch spot on the bus to Hanoi, and even then half the toilets were western and half squat. In general, this is a good thing, more comfortable, but if it gets dirty enough I may wish they were squat after all!
Morning:
It’s a good thing no one came to share our berth during the night. We needed those extra blankets. It is freezing in here! We are each under our two blankets trying to stay warm. The kids said that it is hard to read – just keeping hands exposed to the air hurts. I can’t tell if it is A/C or just outside air blowing through the vents, but I can’t figure out how to turn it completely off. Reminds me a bit of yesterday in Hanoi. It was also very cold, about 50, windy and wet. Obviously, not the cold of winter in Boston, but a damp cold that penetrates the skin. Inside the hotel lobby it was just cool, nothing that our fleeces couldn’t handle. Outside, we put our raincoats over the fleeces, and it was almost enough to stay comfortable. And our early dinner was out on little plastic chairs on the sidewalk outside a “restaurant” that was not five feet wide, actually just a small stall serving warm sandwiches on beautifully fresh baguettes at three-foot-high tables with kindergarten-sized chairs in front of the stand and the clothing store next door. When the rain became heavier, they extended the clothing store’s awning to keep us dry.
Afternoon:
In Hoi An. From the Danang train station we walked 15-20 minutes to where we caught the local bus to Hoi An. It wasn’t expensive, but it was annoying that they charged the foreigners more than the locals. In Hoi An, we walked another 15 minutes to the Hoa Binh Hotel. We have a lovely room with two enormous beds, TV, fridge, private bathroom with tub, and balcony, all for $14 including breakfast. We went across the street for more sandwiches on the lovely local mini-baguettes, for less than $3. Vietnam is certainly cheap and with awesome food. I think we can get used to this! Now if it only gets a little warmer and with some sun.
robsherry 