Reunification Express
Jenny & Adam
HUE, Vietnam // A train ride through Asia has been something we have wanted to do for a long time now. We plan on doing one in Malaysia, but were afraid we might miss out on one earlier. We heard that the train trip along the coast of Vietnam was incredible. It is called the Reunification Express and links Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City with Hanoi. You can do the whole thing, or small parts of it as we did.
From Hoi An we rented a motorbike and drove 45 minutes to Danang train station. We parked the bike right outside with an attendant and booked a last minute ticket. We had a sleeper car all to ourselves and the ride lived up to the expectations. The mountains were on the west and the isolated coastline to the east. Carts came up and down the train hall and we got a mango cut up in a bag as well as corn on the cob.
In Hue, I’m not sure what we would have done for more than one day. The Citadel and Imperial City were very fun to wander around at, but we found the places we enjoyed the best were the abandoned fields and courtyards that no other people were at. We laid there for a good half-hour just appreciating the architecture.
The train ride back was non eventful because the only other ticket we could get to return was at 7:50 pm when it was dark. When we finally found our motorbike, we drove through the streets of Danang just before midnight. The lights, big buildings, and sea breeze were incredible as we drove on this little motorbike.
Today the trip to Hue and back was a challenging and fun day trip. It is a solemn reminder that some of the best parts of our trip has been the journey and not the destination.