Overnight train

Tonight we got the overnight train South from Hanoi. The train left Hanoi station at 7:30pm and took 13.5 hours to reach Hue just before 9am. The journey was fun and felt like a bit of an adventure in itself. We had 3 bunk beds in a cabin of 4 - 2 bottom bunks and a top. We loved seeing the world go by outside our window as we went along - city life in the evening and rural life in the morning. We liked the train toilets significantly less - but needs must.... A random Vietnamese man was in the other top bunk for part of the journey - his phone kept ringing during the night, so we were happy when he got off at 1:30am! Solana slept pretty well - from 8pm until 5am. We slept less well, between the ringing phone, waking up each time the train stopped and worrying that I might fall out of the top bunk! In the morning we borrowed the train guard's kettle and made cups of tea and noodle pots for breakfast. £81 for all 3 of us to travel by sleeper train approx. 400 miles in 13.5 hours - not quite Shinkansen speed or perfection but a fun way to travel, see some of the country and saved us a night's hotel accommodation too.Read more