Nha Trang is know for being a party town for foreigners and Vietnamese alike. I didn't experience any of that, probably because I was too busy preparing to retrieve a jacket that I had left in Quang Ngai.
Small Garabage "Trucks" in Quang Ngai.
I made plans to leave Nha Trang to travel by train to Quang Ngai. My train left at 2:04 a.m. on Sunday. I awoke at 1:00 a.m. and caught a taxi to the train station. I was barely awake. Not knowing how to read any of the signs or without any way to communicate (I don't speak Vietnamese), I had to just guess when my train would come in. I knew that when the train came in the Vietnamese in the waiting room would probably walk towards the train.
Ticket to Quang Ngai
A train pulled into the station. Everyone started walking towards the train. I showed a station agent my ticket. He nodded. So I walked towards car 2.
I boarded car 2 and noticed that someone was sleeping in my seat - grandpa. I first sat in the seat next to him, but another man who just boarded the train had a ticket for my seat. So I tapped the sleeping man on the shoulder. He moved and I sat in that seat - across from his wife - grandma. I looked around and noticed that the car was only 30 percent full. So I moved to the chair behind my ticketed chair. I sat in this seat until grandpa lighted up a cigarette.
I noticed that the car had no smoking symbols along the wall. There were at least six "no smoking" signs in this car. But just as with many other laws in Vietnam, this one was ignored. So I moved to a seat far away from smoky grandpa.
Using the Toilet Wasn't a Nice Experience.
As the train travels through the countryside, I'm reminded of the odors that I experienced while cycling - the manure, garbage, smoke, smoldering wood, porta-potties, animals, deodorant, and diesel exhaust.
I took a short nap since it was late and not yet light outside. Eventually, the sun comes up and we pull into the train station at Dieu Tri. The vendors all have their stalls open and as the train pulls in a cachonophy of voices calls out to the people on the train and disembarking the train.
While I wouldn't eat off of the floors, the train is actually kept clean. Someone periodically sweeps the aisles and the train. But the toilets, a whole in the ground, are not exactly pleasant.
A while later, I speak with a student, Tuy. Earlier, they had offered a breakfast meal, pho (noodles and pork). I skipped the pho, because I don't eat pork. I had to tell Tuy that the reason I skipped the pho is that I am a vegetarian.
Fifteen minutes before the arrival in Quang Ngai, we were offered another meal. These meals are part of cost of the train ticket. I told the server that I was vegetarian ("toi an chay"). He brought me rice, soy sauce and cucumbers just as the train pulled into the station. So I had to eat the meal in the waiting room of the Ga ("Train Station") Quang Ngai while Vietnamese looked on and the motorbike drivers urged me to take a ride with them.
I walked the two kilometers to the hotel in which I previously stayed in Quang Ngai. Along the way, some Vietnamese were shocked to a see a foreigner walking down the street (Quang Ngai does not get much tourist traffic - the site of the My Lai massacre being the main tourist site near town). Other Vietnamese offered me a motorbike ride or food.
Arriving at the hotel, I shook the hotel owner's hand. He had been expecting me because we had called him the previous day to tell him that I would be coming. He didn't speak any English, so I had the receptionist at my hotel translate. I had to demonstrate that I wanted to pick up my jacket. After some pantomine, they retrieved my jacket. Before I could leave the hotel, I was offered his daughter's hand in marriage, I think. Although she was beautiful, and I was flattered, I had to keep going. I only came for my jacket. So, having my jacket in hand, I headed back to the train station.
Return Ticket
I had a mostly uneventful return. After I boarded the train (TN1), I was quickly offered an upgrade to a sleeper car from the hard seats I was originally offered. This upgrade cost me 100.000 VND or a little more than $5. At the sleeper car, I met an english teacher in one of the high schools (comprehensive school) in Quang Ngai. He was on his way to Saigon to visit his brother and sister. He informed me that I should have paid 50.000 VND for the upgrade.
The train ride made me understand why so many Jazz and Blues songs are about trains. The rhythm of the train rolling over the tracks swings - no really, it swings! This is especially true for this Vietnamese train. I spend a few minutes doing a jig to the train's rhythm.
Narrow Hallway of the Sleeper Car.
Six Bunks per Room in the Sleeper Car.
Eventually I arrived back in Nha Trang. It was 8 p.m. After 18 hours of travelling, I had experienced train travel in Vietnam, met a few Vietnamese, and got my jacket back.
Leaving the station, I met some taxi drivers and some motobai drivers. I prefered a taxi. I walked right passed the motorbais and went to a taxi. The driver opened the door for me. Sitting inside the taxi, I told him how much I would pay. This was the amount I paid to my taxi driver earlier in the morning. He refused to drive me to my hotel for that amount. So I got out and started walking. Seeing their opportunity, the motorbai drivers offered any kind of deal. I wasn't interested. As I was just about to leave the station property, the taxi driver grabbed me. He would drive me to my hotel for the amount I offered.
This ended up saving me a bit of time. I wanted to get back to the hotel, eat, and go to sleep. I had been up all day and I was exhausted. The next day I would ride for at least 60 miles and I wanted to be well rested.
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