Shinjoung and I took the overnight sleeper train from Hue to Hanoi. Originally we tried to get our own ticket at the station but were defeated because a) we didn’t have enough Vietnamese Dong on us (thought wrongly that at least the train station would have the ability to use a visa card); and b) it took a while just to push up to the window because “lines” don’t really exist. People kept shoving and pushing money at the ticket seller and this gentle giant couldn’t get the hang of the jostle (I think Shinjoung has a pic of me standing in a sea of Vietnamese looking bewildered 
). So in the end, we called our guest house and for a fee of $1 they ordered the tickets for us. the tickets were very cheap, only @ 500,000 dong ($23) each. There were flights, but they cost between $60-70.
Overall, it was a pretty good experience although there were a couple of things that nobody mentioned: 1) the food’s not very good so pack a dinner, snacks and drinks; 2) lots of people smoke so be prepared to endure. It wasn’t overwhelming, but *was* a bit off-putting; and 3) the bathrooms are hit or miss, so pack a roll of TP just in case. Overall, it was a good experience. Enjoy the montage.
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if you look really closely at the end of the video, you can even see a slight reflection of SJ in the train window!
Link | July 3rd, 2010 at 1:15 pm
Very cool video! But I’m sorry it was smokey! Blech! But I don’t blame you for not flying. I’m scared of small planes. I’d rather take a sleeper train!!
He’s been two or three times. I’m learning Vietnamese!
Anyways, I plan on going to Vietnam with my friend who is Vietnamese American sometime in the next year or two.
Link | July 6th, 2010 at 5:11 pm