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A list of the great Train journeys of the World should definately include the Viet Nam Railways Ho Chi Minh City ( formerly Saigon) to Ha Noi. I did this trip as part of my plan to try to travel by rail to Shanghai, China.
Asa it urned out, because of time consatraints I was only able to go as far as Ha Noi. Still, it was definately a journey I'm glad to have taken. I took the night train from Ho Chi Minh. Having done some checking around before I bought my ticket I decided on spending a few extra dollars and booked the middle berth of a sleeper. I'm glad I did.
To my pleaseant surprise my 5 compartment mates were part of a troupe of actors from An Giang Province in South West Vietnam. They consisted of two men and and three women.
The word men is s misnomer. I should say hulks. Both of them were well over 180cm and over 100 kilos. They could easily play for any team in the NFL.
They were all very friendly and we quickly made friends and had a quite enjoyable time during our journey together up Viet Nam.From Ho Chi Minh to Danang we traveled along the coastal plain, with it's beautiful fields, tropical floral, and simple dwellings
We reached Danang after lunch. From Danang the train took us over Hai Van pass and onward to the acncient Capital of Hue. Hai VanPass is actually the geographic division between North and South Viet Nam. The trip tyhrough the pas is really quite beautiful with the mountain climbing above you and the Mountain falling away to the South China Sea below you.
Afte going over Hai Van once again you follow the coastal plain all the way to Ha Noi. The area around Hue, Dong Ha, and Dong Ho is pretty treeles, the legacy of twenty years of civil war. You can still see mssshapened rice paddies. Evidence of the massive shelling that went on in this area
Be.( PRONOUNCED BA AH He was the leader of a group of actors from An Giang that I shared a compartment with on the train to Ha Noi, Viet Nam. In Vietnamese his name means baby. pretty big baby huh?
Quang Ngai Province
Miss Kim an actress
Ga Danang, or Danang Railroad Station. Danang is on the Central coast roughly halfway between Ho Chi Minh City(formerly Saigon) and Ha Noi
Miss Duong, an actress.
Rice paddies in Quang Ngai Province
Hai Van Pass outside Danang
Hai Van Pass is the geographic demarcation line of north and South Viet Nam, lying between Danang and Hue.
Miss linh eating icecream. This is probbably one of the best photos I've taken in Viet Nam
Ga Danang
Lunchtime!
More Hai Van Pass
Nhung!, an actor. At 180 cm and over 100 kilos he could easily be a down lineman for any NFL Team.
The lovely Miss Linh
Back to Hai Van.
More Hai Van It is reall quite a stunning sight when going over the pass by rail. The train it constantly going in and out of tunnels. From the train you are treated to magnificent sights of the off shore islands and the mountain falling away to the water below.
Typical Hang Be
Typical Ha Noi street scene.
When I got to Ha Noi, after 32 hours on the train I found a very beautiful city. Much much more so than Ho Chi Minh City. Ha Noi has a definate european feel, espescially in the Old Quarter of the city around Hoan Kiem Lake. Like inb Saigon the people are friendly. The first thing that I noticed was how the people drive with more common sense. In Saigon it's as if they drive with a reckless abandon.
In Ha Noi most of the foreigners, tourists and residents, are crowded into the Old Quarter, particularly near Hoan Kiem Lake and Hang Be Street. There is a definate rivalry between Ha Noi and Saigon. Similiar to New York-Boston, New York-LA in the States.
Banana anyone?
Relaxing around Ho Hoan Kiem ( Hoan Kiem Lake).
After I got back to Ha Noi I stayed there for a few months before I headed South and back to Ho'ville
Our boy Hung in Ha Noi. As always he's looking his best for the camera.
Miss Hanh. She works for Hung as a tour guide to Halong Bay and other places in the North.
Such nice pearly whites eh?
His wife Dung looking good as ever.
The incredible Miss Phien
Phien is a Tour Guide in Ha Noi
Here she is just relaxin
Somebody looks tired
Waitin in Hue for the next bus South. That man with white hair was the most obnoxious. By the time we got to Danang people wanted to kill him.
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