Catching a train to Hué, Vietnam

Author: Matt Preston Become a contributor

A later than planned night soon turned in to a very early start as we checked out of our hotel and accidentally took the room key with us (sorry about that!). It was 5am after all!

The taxi ripped us off massively charging us more than double before trying to charge us even more for having bags. We told him no and walked away. Grabbed the obligatory Oreo cookies, Pringles and Ritz crackers , the staple diet of any backpacker in Vietnam!

A friendly man helped us put our back packs on the train before demanding 2 dollars. It seems everyone is out to profit from tourism. It would be nice to be told the price first. We paid him a dollar. Cheeky git.

At first I thought we’d made a mistake in getting the day train. With our soft seats instead of bedroom it felt as though the next 14 hours of traveling would really drag!

Thankfully I sit here writing this now at 4pm, 10 hours in to our travels and having a great time! Enjoying the view of the Vietnamese countryside, relaxing, reading, catching up watching the Japanese Grand Prix on the laptop and trying the hot food available on the train. The only thing on the menu? Rice of course!

The trains are typically communist. Basic, noisy, very old, probably wouldn’t pass safety standards in most capitalist countries, yet are almost charming with their grubby walls and the occasional door propped shut with garden chairs.

We should arrive around 7:30pm. Hopefully we’ll be able to tell we’re at the right station then it’s just a short and no doubt expensive taxi to our hotel.

Hue was hit by the full force of Typhoon Ketsana but the centre of the city was left relatively damage free. We’re looking forward to getting there!