I smell something fishy…

1. Day 25, Hue to Ha Noi, Vietnam

When I write that I smell something fishy, I mean that literally, as the lady sitting beside was eating crabs when I had a look. Small crabs, out of a bag, sucking out the meat from the legs and everything.

That’s what travelling on a soft seat in Vietnam means.

Let’s go back to the beginning. To link major cities, Vietnam has a main train journey that goes from Ho Chi Minh City to Ha Noi (and back). It’s called the Reunification Traon, and takes something like 35h to make that journey. There are several trains a day.

I avoided taking it in favor of a plane from Ho Chi Minh City to Da Nang, but for my next destination, Cat Ba island, via Ha Noi and Hai Phong, the train was cheaper.

I took one that arrived at 4 in the morning, lessening the need for a sleeping berth (soft sleep) in favor of a reclining seat (soft seat). You don’t want to know what the hard seats are.

The journey started with small children playing noisily, neighbours eating seafood, food vendors plying the carriage. But by the time we passed Vinh, half-way, and a major stop, the seat next to me was empty, the families were gone, and could spread out and recline my seat and attempt to sleep.

Did I mention that the trip was 13h long? 

And the seats may look comfortable, but it is superficial, and quite soon they are hard enough. 

But still I slept through the rattling of the carriages (no gentle swaying here), waking at the numerous stops, sudden brakings, strange outside lights, which I didn’t really expect. 

Once again I was saved by the inflatable neck cushion, gifted a few years ago by my family for a previous travel, and which I always take with me.

So now I’m in a waiting room at Ha Noi train station, waiting for the next train that will take me to Hai Phong, where I’ll take the ferry to Cat Ba Island near the Ha Long Bay.

Edit: let it be noted that the platform 1C can be found platform 7, and just as for Hogwarts and its platform 9 3/4, there is no indication telling you where to find it.