Night Train to Hue

Night Train to Hue

We left Hanoi for Hue only shortly after arriving back from Ha Long Bay.

We had been advised to get some take-away dinner in Hanoi before getting on the train because there was no buffet car. Just for a change, I fancied spaghetti with tomato sauce, so with my pack on my back and my dinner in hand I walked into Hanoi train station.

Train station - Hanoi

 

After a short wait, the train was announced. It was starting at Hanoi, so there was plenty of time to find the right car and settle in. There were also kiosks selling snacks and drinks. Of course, we hopped off the train to stock up on beer for the journey ahead. There was a thunderstorm brewing overhead and ran was singing against the tin roof of the platform.

The train itself was what you would expect for a sleeper train. There was a very steep climb up and into the train. A narrow corridor took you to your room. There were eight of us in total, evenly divided between men and women – each cabin held four people.

Clockwise: Scott, Luwen, Greg, Me

The cabin was small, it was as wide as my arm-span, but well organised with a tea urn, sesame cakes, water and overnight stuff (including toothpaste and a comb). The beds were too short for me, so I couldn’t sleep on my back, but instead had to lie on my side. The issue with this was that the mattress was very thin so this became uncomfortable after a while.

With no announcement or fanfare of any kind, our journey began as the train pulled out of Hanoi. On time.

There were two chaps in our car who were in tatty uniforms. They took turns to sleep in a cupboard, listening to horrendous music, whilst the other made  bit of money on the side selling beer from a cooler filled with cold brown icy water. Aside from these two tasks, I never really saw what it was that these chaps, guards maybe, were there to do.

The train journey lasted 14 hours. Being able to doze on a hard bed was certainly preferable to sitting upright in a seat, but I didn’t feel as though I had had a good nights rest. Instead I woke at 5am and shared some good conversation with Scott until the train arrived unannounced at Hue a few hours later.

334 miles in 14 hours on this train was quite an experience and while the train wasn’t anywhere near as impressive as the Bullet Train, which covered a similar distance in 2.5 hours, the tickets were only £15!

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