[Editor's Note: This post was written aboard the HCMC to Nha Trang yesterday evening.]
This afternoon, when we decided we should take the train from HCMC up to Nha Trang, we acknowledged that this attempt at budget travel could be a fun and convenient way to get to our next destination, or that it could be a colossal failure resulting in a miserable god-knows-how-long trip inside a tiny shoebox of a sleeping car. After hearing the disappointing news that the Golden Express luxury train was not an option (it only runs during the high season) and examining five different train schedules where each train took anywhere from seven to eleven hours to run the same exact route, we took a leap of faith and purchased three berths in an overnight train departing HCMC at 9:40 p.m.
To be completely accurate, we actually purchased four berths in the event that our friend, Cecilia, wanted to join us. Fine, in the interest of complete disclosure, in the event that she did not join us, we wanted to ensure we didn’t wind up with some rando sleeping next to us (or on top of us, as it were.)
We arrived at the train station a little on edge. We knew the moment of truth would soon be upon us. Would the train be a plush and romantic way to travel the up Vietnamese coast? Or would it be a flea-invested, smoky, broke-down, no A/C nightmare of an overnight ride? Regardless, we all agreed that it couldn’t possibly be worse than Amtrak.
You can imagine the look on our faces and the delight in our hearts when we caught our first glimpse of the sleeping car through the train window and saw wood paneling and brand-new LG flat screen televisions. The downside is that it’s an overnight train, so we won’t really see anything. The upside is that we will wake up tomorrow on one of the world’s best snorkeling and SCUBA beaches.
And for all of USD $96, we have our very own, cedar-scented, 5 x 7, double-bunk bed box. Con flat screen. Score.
The television, by the way, is tuned to some kind of celebration in honor of Ho Chi Minh’s 119th birthday, in case you were wondering. There appears to be no way to change the channel.
7:42 p.m.-- And we’re off! On time!!
7:45 p.m.-- A lady conductor in a very smart uniform just came by to give us bottled water and a refreshing towelette. Awesome.
7:56 p.m.-- Another conductor knocked on our compartment door, said hello, then left.
8:25 p.m.-- We are stopped. Haven’t moved an inch in the last 10 minutes. Rethinking how great an idea this was…
9:00 p.m.-- I'm nodding off thanks to the gentle rocking of the train. G'night!
6:00 a.m.-- Fritz just went to grab us some water from the bar car and returned very flustered. Apparently he put his hand through a glass panel in one of the intra-car doors and the conductor is after him. This whole experience suddenly feels like something out of the Darjeeling Limited.
6:30 a.m.-- It was unclear exactly at what time we were scheduled to arrive, but we appear to have made it! Time for some fun in the sun.
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