Tag Archives: ho chi minh

Hoi An was out intermediate stop on the way from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh. I’ve no idea why i picked Hoi An but the guide book said it was a nice place to visit. The trip there was an ordeal. The vietnamese trains are awful, the exact opposite of the shinkansen – they are slow, dirty and uncomfortable. Our train left Hanoi at around 7pm and was due to get to Danang at around midday of the next day. Overnight trains are generally not very comfortable and we weren’t expecting any better from this one. Our beds were in a 6-bed berth which also had an australian couple (on their way to the Isle Of Man!!!) and a bunch of vietnamese randoms. The vietnamese seem to book one bed for the entire family which is crazy. The trains are so loud that it was impossible to get sleep. At around 8am the inspector came into our berth and told us to get off the train. We assumed the next stop was Danang. It wasn’t. He had told us to get off in Hue which is 3 hours north of Danang. Bastard!! We were pissed as we had to wait 3 hours in Hue to get the next train and pay extra for the ticket. When we finally got to Danang the bus we booked wasn’t there so we had to pay extra to get a taxi to Hoi An. Very stressful stuff. But Hoi An itself turned out to be great. Continue reading →