Vietnam: Train from Hue to Da Nang / Hoi An

It's become apparent to me that the majority of tourists take the bus from Hue to Hoi An instead of the train.  This is because once you arrive in Da Nang, you need to find other means of getting from the train station in Da Nang to Hoi An which is another 20 minute drive away.  According to the internet [which knows all and is never wrong] the scenery on the train route is much more spectacular than the road as it hugs the coastline as it crawls up the slopes and down the other side.  At some points the hillside is so steep that you can't even see the land below you and all you can see is vast expanse of the South China Sea.  Now don't get me wrong - it was extremely comfortable, and the view was spectacular - but I think I've been spoiled by having this kind of scenery in abundance back home in New Zealand.  Trade in those wonderful leafy palmy Vietnamese jungle trees in for your New Zealand evergreen of choice and you've got a similar picture.

And I don't care - I loved every single minute of the two hour up and down over the hills and absolutely recommend it to anybody traveling that way.

ProTip:  If heading from Hue to Da Nang, try and book a seat on the left hand side of the train, if heading north from Da Nang to Hue, book a seat on the right hand side for the best view.  Failing that - walk to one of the smoking areas in-between carriages and you can have an unobstructed view out the window.

On arrival in Da Nang, I'm greeted by the usual taxi hustlers trying to get your business.  The first chap that approaches me says he can take me in a minivan for US$17.  I bargain him down to 60,000VD (about US$2.80) for the ride into town - sharing the van with three other people from the train.  The van driver turns out to be a lovely chap who is eager to show us some sights on the way and promote his private tour business.  It's a shame he tried to short change me by 5,000VD.

Vietnam: Train Trip to Hue

I board the 23:00 train south to Hue.  I'm gonna be cruisin' in style with a soft sleeper ticket.  When the boarding gates are opened I join the asian train scramble to get on board.  (One does not simply walk onto a train in asia - you scramble).

Or if you're the boss, you swagger.

I'm sharing a cabin with a Vietnamese family and a friend, and I notice my train ticket doesn't say "Foreigner" on it like tourists usually get.  The viets speak very little english - and one man in particular who seems especially keen to talk - has zero English capability.
It's fun to communicate using hand signals and drawing on paper for a while - though he is a little in my comfort zone.  He's very touchy feely, and has absolutely no problem sitting on my bunk and touching my stuff.

That's probably his foot sticking out of my blanket right there.

Eventually we get underway, the cabin door is shut, and the lights are turned off.  I'm impressed by the little footholds that fold down so that you can climb up onto the upper bunks - you can see one in the picture above next to my sexily socked foot.  The train altogether has a really cool 60s eastern bloc vibe going on.

It's cool because it doesn't have a k on the end.

The man on the bunk above lets out an amazing sneeze which I'm sure showered the cabin.  The woman on the bunk opposite me has a great sleep - I have never experienced so much loud snoring in my life.  All that aside - I had a rather good nap, albeit with some pretty strange dreams.

That's not raindrops on the window.  That's sneeze.

Morning comes, and it's a beautiful day so I go back to sleep.  An hour or two later, I'm woken by a hustle and bustle and my roommates are rushing to get off the train at Vinh.  You have to be quick because they only seem to stop at the train station for about 2-3 minutes before it leaves again.  No new customers come in to the cabin so we are left to enjoy the rest of the trip and a trolley cart breakfast in peace.

Get yo hands offa my chicken!

It's roughly 9:30am and I'm due to be in Hue at 10:50 so not long to go!  Naturally, four hours later I arrive at Hue.

German efficiency this most certainly is not.

Greetings from another world. Also - Spiderman.

I'm looking for the hook, the first act, the opening stanza - the point to suck you in.  I've been slack - procrastination maximus - away from home for two and a half months and not a single word written down.  What better time to start than now?  Lying down, feet on the wall in a sleeper bunk on a slow train to Singapore.  Damn you short asian people and your short ways.  Why can't you do the proper and polite thing and grow taller so that you can are forced to build sleeping berths that can accommodate a human being of "slightly above average for a white boy" height? 

Pictured: Not asian

Perhaps I should have started writing things down sooner.  Perhaps not - it might get in the way of a good yarn.  Many of the people I have met so far have their nightly ritual of jotting down notes in their journals before going to bed.  I guess the alternative way to put yourself to sleep is frowned upon in a 24 bed mixed dorm.

Sorry to bore you with this introduction - I promise my story will get better.   Hell, maybe I'll improve my writing skills as I go…  so let me get a few things out of the way first, and let's make it quick:

Quit Job, worked hard, moved out of apt, sold furniture and crap, gave away furniture and crap, threw away furniture and crap, couldn't bring self to sell car, leave girlfriend [sad :(] hop on plane.  I'm in Sydney - land of sun and beaches.  Naturally it rains for the next three weeks and is freezing cold.  I meet some really cool people, abuse couch sleeping privileges (go Matt!) and generally have a good time.  I spin some tunes in a club in the cross for 30 mins.  Apparently Will Smith - Fresh Prince of Bel Air Theme isn't commercial enough for this "Got any Gaga?" crowd.  Oh well I'm having fun.  Saw some stuff.  Did some stuff, then I went to Melbourne and saw some more stuff, then went back to Sydney.

Stuff

Which brings me to Spiderman.  We're having some flat warming drinks at Oh who will not be named's new pad.  Oh who will not be named has been drinking with the rest of us, goes outside for a while only to find he's left his keys inside.  Naturally, the first thing that pops into one's head when you leave a party is "There is nobody inside the apartment full of people that I just left" and therefore Spidey decide that it's a good idea to try and climb up three floors to the balcony to get inside.  Luckily Spidey's fall is caught at the bottom.  Unluckily it was caught by his face.

Fast forward one long night, one broken wrist, fractured eye socket and cheek later and all is well.  He who will not be named is released from the hospital (even though he can barely walk or talk) in order to free up his bed as he is stuck on the waiting list for surgery.  Four hours later, and he coughs up a lovely gob of blood.  Back to the hospital again with you son.

"Oh - by the way we just ran some more tests and it turns out you have a punctured lung, pneumonia, and most of your ribs are broken".  "Oh and your other shoulder's a little bit broken too".

Hooray for public healthcare!

Climbing Dexterity

Now I've gotten that out of the way - we can travel off to places more exotic than Aussie - "Land of animals that kill you".