They say we should “enjoy the journey” and not focus on the destination, but after spending 17 hours on a Vietnam train, our focus really WAS the destination, and it was worth focusing on. Ninh Binh has captured our hearts after barely a day, and instead of staying here for 4 days then moving on to Hanoi, we tacked on another week and shortened our Hanoi trip. But first, the train.

I used to love train travel, and in Europe, especially on relatively short journeys, they are still awesome. Anything over 8 hours gets tedious on any train, and even though Vietnam trains are not the worst, they have room for improvement. They do run reasonably on time and generally offer several different options on how you ride: cheap seats in a crowded car, premium seats with a bit more room and wider aisles, and sleeper cars. Of those three I highly recommend the sleeper car, and if you CAN, get a car for two—if you are traveling with a partner—rather than a 4 or 6 bunk. It’s a bit pricier, but worth it in my view. I had the upper bunk on a 4-bed cabin last month (for 10 hours), and it wasn’t horrible, but I’d bet a SIX bed model would be quite uncomfortable. Kat and I reserved a private car, and it made a tough situation much easier since we had no bunkmates and lots of room. There were nice murals on the walls, and you could stretch out however you wish. Even so, it made about a dozen stops, some of them for 20 minutes or more, and made for a very long day. AI quoted 12 hours for the ride, but I think that would be best case, and few stops. Our train was called the Reunification Express (ironic name!), which IS slower than the overnight trains, and we left at 0906 on Friday and arrived at 0204 Saturday morning, so got to see the amazing scenery a night train would not offer. Another note about Vietnamese trains: their restaurant car is a joke, with minimal offerings, and seemed to be more of a hangout for the crew. But throughout the day porters came through offering a host of eating and drinking options, so as long as you’re open to vendor food, you won’t starve.

Ninh Binh, and neighboring Tam Coc (where we are staying), is known as Halong Bay on Land since it has similar limestone mountains, called karsts, like Halong Bay, all around. They are amazing to see; primitive, ancient, full of mysteries, and Vietnam has several regions of them. The first time we came to Vietnam, in early 2020, we stayed in Halong Bay, so had a great introduction to karsts. There are several lakes and rivers in the area which we plan to tour with a guide, and they take us through tunnels beneath the rocks, as well as miles of beautiful scenery. That’s tomorrow