Now I’m in Vietnam. A train journey here is an adventure in itself. Such an experience it’s hard to decide where to start the story.
Maybe with the 6 hours sharing a birth with an old Vietnamese woman that kept talking to as/if I understood her. My friend teased me that it was a marriage propo and that I accepted in my garbled Viet reply. And that it’s legal here... and she gets half my stuff. Hehehe... made my evening end with laughte.
My orginal train was cancelle, so I rebooked to the next one. That ended leaving 4 hours behind schedul. Seated among the huddled mass at the station is chaos. Just a bathroom break is crazy...I see sandles at the men’s room entrance... no way I’m taking my shoes off.
How do you recognize the Microbiologist in the DaNang train bathroom? (Or any public one for that matter ). ... He’s the one that washes BEFORE he pees.
After finally boarding a train...not entirely sure it’s the correct one... I find my coach and compartment. No one asks for a ticket ....the entire trip. Guess they use the honor syst here...very strange.
Along the tri, there are no signs at the stops, just garble faint Vietnamese on a speaker. Where am I, which is my stop ??? I nap but worries about blowing past Dong Hoi linger.
i finally rely on Google maps when I have a sig to see where I am within the country. Finally I see Dong Hoi approach. Exiting the train in hope of finding transport to the hotel , it’s 10:00pm and exhausted. Thankfully my guide is there. Maverick- they always chose an Amarica name to use for you. My tour operator has been the best ... and Maverick retrieves me and I arrive safely in Dong Hoi...
not a trip for for the average America. The bathroom, the smells, the bouncing of the train would crush most of us spoiled US travelers.
But this is Vietnam. Authentic, honest, growing.
Cheers friends,
thanks reading
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