Sleepers aka overnight trains aka 'celebrity shags'

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Again, a bit late but hopefully better than never. Our second sleeper train in Vietnam (7pm Hue to Hanoi 9am) had much less buzz to it. We caught the first just hours after Vietnam won their first ASEAN Cup title beating arch rivals Thailand in injury time of the second leg and the country took off! On that leg we were probably the only people to get any sleep albeit just a few hours. The second sleeper was far more relaxed; the squat toliet looked and smelled like it least was starting the journey cleanish and there was real faux wood panelling in our cabin(!). We were sharing with a middle aged Vietnamese Imelda Marcos who had a lot of gold jewellry, a big hairsprayed do and a matching set of fake gucci luggage (logos hairsprayed on). We tried to exchange a couple of pleasantries in bit English/Vietnamese but the big smile we got in return appeared to be more in quiet celebration of having some peace from her husband who went to join a card game a few cabins along. So with the language barrier looking like it wouldn't take us any further and with 'peace' on the agenda, Hel and I started a few light-hearted top fives... only 14 hrs later when we were wished a pleasant 'good luck','good bye' and given another smile did we realise our evening-long conversations were probably well understood!

Top five celebrities to share a fun sleeper with:

Guy
1. Will Ferrell - fart jokes, fart noises, farts, singing, pranks on the cabin next door, etc.
2. Bill Murray - misunderstood comic genius. what was it like to be a ghost buster? what exactly did Scarlet say to you?
3. Austin Healy - will hold nothing back on behind the scenes
4. Ricky Kaiser Chief - will hold nothing back on behind the scenes
5. Noel Fielding - wierd

Hel
1. Cat Deely - good girly gossip
2. Eddie Izzard - surreal something for the early hours, cats drilling under bunks
3. Kylie - kareoke fun
4. Julie Walters - Mrs O impressions for when the tea lady appears
5. Johnny Depp - interesting and opinionated eye candy


Top five celebrities to share a 'FUN' sleeper with:

Guy
1. Scarlet Johannson - opening scene in Lost in Translation, actually all of Lost in Translation
2. Uma Thurman - welding a weapon or as a Dangerous Liason
3. Charlotte Church - rugby
4. Gong Li - fiesty. has female equivilant of 'blue steel'
5. Kate Hudson - Almost Famous (and most chick flicks), unbelievably cute

Hel
1. John Cussak - funny, odd in a good way
2. Viggo Mortenson - Aragon only, especially when opening heavy doors
3. Hugh Jackman - Wolverine
4. George Clooney - who wouldn't? (only just missed out on Guy's)
5. Gary Barlow - slim version


Top five 'celebrities' you'd least like to share a sleeper with:

Guy
1. June Sapong - voice
2. Trinny - where do i start...
3. Susannah - where do i finish... NONE OF IT IS IMPORTANT!
4. Paul Dacre - abhore any opinion held by this man as he continues to poison blighty
5. James Blunt - weener

Hel
1. Jeremy Clarkson - chauvanist
2. Charlie Boorman - juvenille
3. Anthony Worrell Thompson - bore
4. Lilly Allen - obnoxious
5. Nick Knowles - how is he on TV?

We tried to jointly decided on an ultimate 'interesting and alive' top five but managed to agree on four; David Attenborough, Stephen Fry, Peter Kay and Emma Thompson... to be continued on an Indian sleeper

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