We took the slow train to Danang, leaving at 2 in the afternoon and not arriving until after 10 the next morning. Last time we did the overnight train to Danang we left at 7 in the evening and arrived at about the same time, 10 in the morning! The funny thing is that the slow train is cheaper – talk about getting your money’s worth!!
We had a pleasant and uneventful journey, getting joined at 7 in the evening by a Vietnamese lady who was bunked above me. She decided that Molly’s thongs must be offered by the train company, complimentary for passengers who thought high heeled leopard skin pumps were appropriate for train travel. But apart from that she was well behaved!
Danang was….interesting. We got ripped off by a Devil-Woman at a street-side food stall which I have to explain. I am happy to pay a little more than locals but 100% mark-ups are greed gone wrong, particularly given that we sat at the stall almost solely out of politeness in accepting their invitation and only ate because again, food was offered and we were polite! In a town that appears devoid of tourists, it seemed unlikely that a simple street stall would be looking to send their kids through college based on our brief visit! Wrong………So when the price was outrageous I decided to tell the woman, her husband and about 20 Vietnamese eating there that it is one thing to pay a little more but rude and greedy to take advantage of visitors to their country – I also called her “The Devil” many times because she did have an evil look about her and it made me feel good! You know what I’m saying don’t you Rachel?
As time passed in Danang we failed to find anything remotely interesting as far as dining, shopping or otherwise was concerned and discovered that any further investigation into Vietnamese Visa extensions (and thus Russian Visas from within Vietnam) were a waste of time. So after a very strange dinner in a roof top restaurant, empty except for us and with a really limited menu, an equally strange breakfast experience and the feeling that we needed to actually move North, we decided to get the day train to Hue.
We had a pleasant and uneventful journey, getting joined at 7 in the evening by a Vietnamese lady who was bunked above me. She decided that Molly’s thongs must be offered by the train company, complimentary for passengers who thought high heeled leopard skin pumps were appropriate for train travel. But apart from that she was well behaved!
Danang was….interesting. We got ripped off by a Devil-Woman at a street-side food stall which I have to explain. I am happy to pay a little more than locals but 100% mark-ups are greed gone wrong, particularly given that we sat at the stall almost solely out of politeness in accepting their invitation and only ate because again, food was offered and we were polite! In a town that appears devoid of tourists, it seemed unlikely that a simple street stall would be looking to send their kids through college based on our brief visit! Wrong………So when the price was outrageous I decided to tell the woman, her husband and about 20 Vietnamese eating there that it is one thing to pay a little more but rude and greedy to take advantage of visitors to their country – I also called her “The Devil” many times because she did have an evil look about her and it made me feel good! You know what I’m saying don’t you Rachel?
As time passed in Danang we failed to find anything remotely interesting as far as dining, shopping or otherwise was concerned and discovered that any further investigation into Vietnamese Visa extensions (and thus Russian Visas from within Vietnam) were a waste of time. So after a very strange dinner in a roof top restaurant, empty except for us and with a really limited menu, an equally strange breakfast experience and the feeling that we needed to actually move North, we decided to get the day train to Hue.
Saigon Municipal Theatre
Continental Saigon, where the novel The Quiet American was written, centering much of the story around the Hotel itself
The devil Woman's rice wagon - she was stood behind us but strangely does not appear in the photo
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