The next day, we headed to Vietnam on the train. Although the train ride was supposed to be overnight, we barely slept. The first time we stopped for visa formalities at about midnight. We continued on the train, and at about 3am, we had to change to a Vietnam train at the border. It was all fairly well organized, and comfortable, but it wasn’t exactly conducive to a good night’s sleep.

The Vietnamese train was a significant step down from the Chinese train. The linens weren’t clean, there was no door on the compartment, it was over-air-conditioned (freezing!) and the train was pretty grubby.

The next day, we headed to Vietnam on the train. Although the train ride was supposed to be an overnight in a sleeper car, we barely slept. The first time we stopped for visa formalities at about midnight. We continued on the train, and at about 3am, we had to change to a Vietnam train at the border. It was all fairly well organised and comfortable, but it wasn’t exactly conducive to a good night’s sleep.

The Vietnamese train was a significant step down from the Chinese train. The linens weren’t clean, there was no door on the compartment, it was over-air-conditioned (freezing!) and the train was pretty grubby. 

There was also a constant broadcast of sights to see in Vietnam.  It seemed each time the recording was done describing some wonderful sight to see it would wrap up with something along the lines of “sadly that was all destroyed by the Americans during the American War…”  It was an interesting introduction to Vietnam!