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Published: November 15th 2012
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Hopped off the return mini-bus ride from Halong Bay to Hanoi, had dinner and chilled out for a couple of hours, and then back on the road again, this time a longer 14h train ride from Hanoi to the Central Vietnam beach city of Danang.
Heading southwards on the train from Hanoi, most tourists' first port of call would be the ancient capital of Hue, but I'd been there my first visit to Vietnam in 2005, so this time I decided to instead check out Danang which I'd missed back then. The Reunification Express passes through some picturesque Vietnamese coastal scenery, with the tracks being flanked by the Central Highlands on the West, and the Gulf of Tonkin on the East, and made for some great views.
On the ride itself I met a middle-aged Russian Professor (from "Kursk" (!)) of Religious History and his wife who were pretty much travelling in Asia (ex-Russia) for the first time. The first thing he said was that he thought the train would be in better condition. I kinda laughed in my mind and thought to myself, well Vietnamese trains seem to be pretty decent, and perhaps second only to Thai trains
Museum of Cham Sculptures
In complete contrast to the almost deserted Danang Museum, this one was crawling with bus-loads of tourists. I had to be quite opportunistic in taking this relatively serene photo. so far on my Southeast Asian escapade! Guess he's used to more comfort in Russia. He also seemed quite a contrast to the stereo-typical brash-talking, vodka-guzzling, gruff Russian. Rather quiet, shy, almost timid, he expressed feeling being cheated by almost all the Vietnamese vendors he'd encountered thus far. (I verified that he had indeed been overcharged for the train ticket by the tour agency at his hotel...) Anyway, I told him not to take it personally, and that this was one of the annoyances of travelling in Vietnam, and *promised* him things aren't so bad in the rest of Southeast Asia at least...
Anyway on the Danang, as I mentioned, known as a beach resort, and in fact the third largest city in Vietnam, after the big two Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC). Regrettably though, I did not make it to the beach at all this time round! I'm on a schedule to meet a friend in HCMC, so only had a couple of days to spare here in Danang. Nonetheless, the sprawling city itself already made for good exploration, with a lovely riverside promenade, and offered a good hint of life in urban Vietnam outside the
Hanoi-Danang Train Ride
Gulf of Tonkin on the East. Big Two (with more reasonable prices to boot!)
I do hope to come back again soon though, to check out the famed beaches, popular with the American GIs during the war days. For now I'll just have to content myself with thoughts of my next destination Dalat in the Central Highlands, and the tantalising 20h winding bus ride that's to take me there (wish me luck). The ride runs through Hoi An and Nha Trang too, but I'll be skipping those places this time since I'd checked them out before.
Stayed at the Danang Trade Union Hotel (gotta love the socialist name!)
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