From Da Nang to Quang Binh, we took an unplanned train ride which turned out to be a great experience. It was also my first time taking the train, so it was all a big surprise.
The train ride SE10 that we took left Da Nang Station early morning at 9:05 am. We departed the beautiful Hoi An at 7:15 am for Da Nang Rail Station and arrived early at around 8:10 am, an hour before the train arrived so we had a lot of time to burn. Our driver took us to the station using a different city road that was more spacious than the seaside road. He charged me 400,000 VND for the trip. The train station was packed, interestingly with many foreigners. The majority was still locals that were travelling home or to work.
The train got to the Da Nang Station a bit late. We dragged our luggage across a train track to get to the platform. Some people got off the train, we got on. The cabin had four beds, we booked three beds for three adults as Morgan did not require a ticket. The remaining bed was empty but a train worker said that I could pay coffee money for her to move the person that booked that bed to another cabin so we would have the cabin to ourselves. I gave her 30,000VND but I was not sure if the bed was actually booked or my 30,000VND was given away in vain.
The train started out slowly with many small stops at smaller stations. Morgan quickly made friends with other kids in other cabins and enjoyed looking out the window panes at the mountainsides. They exchanged words in both Vietnamese and English. Morgan insisted on speaking Vietnamese to them with her basic speaking ability. They even drew together and gifted each other their drawings. The family was travelling all the way to Hanoi from Nha Trang and would stay on the train until 5 am the next day before getting off. The kids kept coming back to our cabin to invite Morgan to play. They all bid farewell when we departed. These are the memories that I want Morgan to keep.
The biggest highlight of the trip came within the hour after departure. We admired the Hai Van Mountain Passage. The train went by the edge of the mountainside right next to the ocean revealing a stunning scenery of deep valleys right underneath us and vast patches of greenery leading up to beautiful secluded sandy and rocky beaches.
We saw random people fishing on big pieces of rocks with huge waves clashing up on the ocean side, and a couple taking photos next to a tall waterfall underneath us on the other side. These areas seem to be remote but we found out later that there were some campgrounds nearby. It took us at least a half an hour to witness the mountain edges. At the end of the passage, a small village appeared and we arrived at a small station North Hai Van.
The train made announcements at bigger stations. Hue was one of them. Hue was the former capital of Vietnam under the Nguyen dynasty. We did not have the chance to visit Hue this time so this train ride had given us a glance of it along the train ride. We briefly saw some ancient gates in between rows of modern houses before we passed by its residential areas next to the train track. Lotus fields, rice paddy fields, small houses with green gardens continuously appeared on our cabin’s window.
The rest of the ride was much faster as we went further in land at a higher speed. The train stopped smaller stops with fewer people got on or off. At each stop, there was a small building with a train worker waving a flag. It was also common that the building had a few dogs laying there sleeping or watching the train. That was another highlight of the trip for Morgan; she liked to point at and count how many dogs there were.
There are other animals along the train track. Cows and buffaloes were most common. Josh and Nany had fun identified which one was cow and which one was buffaloes. The sceneries were peaceful; our eyes were treated with green paddy fields all the way to some mountain beds in the distance.
There was no lack of food on the train. We brought some with us; however, as we settled in our cabin, train workers continuously walking along coaches with their carts filled with different types of food: freshly boiled corn, boiled eggs, instant noodles, chips, water, and specialty treats for purchase. Our coach did not have hot water, but other coaches did have a station for instant noodles. I did not use the bathroom during the train ride; there were hand washing stations on both ends though.
The train ride was somewhat bumpy and loud; but it was not that disruptive. We took turn to rest on our beds on the train; each of us slept for an hour or so peacefully. I wonder if it was an overnight train, we would be able to sleep soundly.
The train arrived at Dong Hoi Station shortly before 5 pm. The train assistant went to our cabin shortly and rushed us out. We barely made it out with our belongings while other people shouted at us in Vietnamese. We quickly crossed another train track to the platform when another train arrived. We chuckled as we now understood why we were shouted at =).
A driver approached me to offer us a ride to our hotel. I was hesitant but I agreed to use his service. We loaded our luggage onto the back of the 4-seat car and settled in when it started raining. It was the end of a unique unplanned experience for us. All of us enjoyed it truly.
Pros:
- Memorable sceneries
- Private cabin for 4
- Affordable pricing ($30/person)
Cons:
- Sanitary is not the best
- There might be odours
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