DONG MILLIONAIRES & THE MIDNIGHT EXPRESS (Graham’s blog)

We are on our way out of Nha Trang, a hopping and bopping seaside resort and source of much-needed R&R, best of which was a mud bath.  Sounds disgusting but it was actually great.  A thermal assault on the body which was just the ticket after a grim night on a freezing (uncontrollable air con)  cold train the previous night.





The unit of currency is the Dong.  A trip to the ATM to extract $100 immediately confirms your millionaire status (2 million Dong to be exact).  Sadly it lasts only 2 or 3 days.  Some of it was well spent at a great group meal BBQ – our best meal yet.



Next it was on to catch the next midnight express to Danang.  Our 4 bed berth is pleasantly described as a “soft sleeper” and is the “best” available on the train.  It is not soft and neither does one sleep. We arrived to find our cabin already used – grubby sheets, blankets and litter strewn everywhere.  This did not do a lot for the collective sense of humour at 11.30 at night.  Thank god for our silk sleeping bag liners and own pillow cases that we brought for just such occasions.




The loos are not for the faint-hearted and our guide issued dire warnings about buying food from the trolley.  Performing one’s ablutions in one of two communal washbowls alongside vomiting Vietnamese, whilst others sleep on the corridor is something of a challenge!  What life is like in the cattle class can scarcely be imagined.
But the hotel for last 2 days was excellent, with its own pool and the beach a few yards away, so a good rest stop after the 2 weeks of hard travelling.