Overnight Train

We are finally getting our overnight train experience, something a person should do at least once while traveling in SE Asia.

Getting tickets was extremely difficult due to the Tet Holiday and many in our group are split up among various carriages.  The four of us are lucky to have a carriage to ourselves.  Jeff was initially assigned to a different carriage, but the young mother traveling in our carriage got off the train after about an hour and Jeff was able to move in with us.  From a security standpoint, this is beneficial since we can lock our carriage door when we go to sleep and not worry about our bags being stolen.  Because we are in First Class, there are four bunks upon which to sleep and store bags.  The Second Class are six to a carriage and that is pretty tight. 

Rita, Jeff, Sharon, Sam, Alison, George, Kelsey, Ursala, Jan, Gary

We are finding that our travel group has split somewhat into an older and a younger group, with those of us 50+ hanging together the majority of the time and the few 30-somethings floating between.  There are three others in our age bracket, and we make a merry band of travelers.  George is a former broadcaster from Australia, Sharon is an educator from Manchester, England, and Walter is a roofer and mountaineering guide from Switzerland.  Because Gary, Jan, Jeff and I have a carriage to ourselves, we become the gathering spot for our gang, and we all jam in for a few hours of visiting and beer drinking and watching the countryside roll by until it is time to turn in for the night.   Given the lurching of the train, the frequent stops and the general noise, I had a fairly restful night’s sleep.  Poor George and Walter were serenaded by a champion snorer and emerge in the morning looking pretty tired.  

Our train arrives in Hanoi at 4:30am, and it is 5:30 by the time we get to our hotel.  Phi was able to secure us three rooms in which we can clean up, rest and store our gear until all the rooms are ready.  Many in our party are desperate for sleep, but about all we can do is press on until 1:00 when all the rooms will be ready.  We four are once again put together in a temporary room arrangement.  I have been sick with traveler’s diarrhea for 11 days and am exhausted, so I claim the bed for a nap while the other three go out and visit the Ho Chi Minh Museum.  They return hours later, knackered and over-heated and ready for a shower and a rest.  Fortunately, there is a room ready for Gary and Jan, so they’re able to grab their stuff and get settled in down the hall.

Jeff has inquired about finding a clinic for me and I have an appointment for tomorrow morning.  The course of antibiotics that I finished five days ago seemed to help a little, but I’m concerned there may be a parasite involved and it’s time to get some professional help.  Until then, I will continue living on bananas and yogurt.