Hue to Nha Trang by train, Vietnam

I’ve just watched the mountains fade into darkness and farmers abandon their fields for the night after a glorious day in the central plains. I’ve been on the train since this morning, originally feeling somewhat cautious about having an entire carriage to myself, let alone the cabin. A few hours later we passed the station of Danang where the train became alive with voices and I shared my cabin with the most unfriendly European couple.

The views have been incredible. As the train climbed uphill we passed through jungle, and wound alongside shanty towns and eventually proceeded to follow the coastline where I watched the waves crashing against the rocks and golden sands that continued for miles. During the second part of the journey the scenery became much flatter, as we cut our way across paddy fields that stretched to the horizon, glistening in the sun.

The journey itself consisted of a few meals, in the form of plastic containers filled with rice, leaves and possibly pork. I decided against eating the meat, as everything was barely warm and far from appetising. I was thankful for the supply of pasteries I had bought before leaving Hue.

A particular side pocket in my backpack seems doomed, after the previous nights ant infestation, as today it was the sunscream that decided to leak. The ants proved not to be too much of a problem as the hotel provided a huge can of insect spray (which I had hoped not to use) and took my pack in the hallway, where there was a lurking cockroach, and gave the ants a blast. I noticed the bathroom had a colony of tiny ants but other than that I’m not sure how they got there.

A few hours after dark we pulled into Nha Trang station where the hotel owner picked me up, balancing my pack on the front of his scooter and me behind. It can also be said by this point that my pack is quite heavy. The room is ok, plain but cheap. I also have an ensuite and a tv with a rock music channel so all is well. Not that I’ve come to Vietnam to watch satelite tv, but its still amusing where you can watch a copy of a mid nineties movie.