Well, funny you should ask, and to kind of wrap up my review of that town, as I said, for US it’s not quite “ready for prime time” yet, but it has a lot of potential. So I figured since I’m this close to the city of Nha Trang, another city on the “check it out” list, that’s where I went. And since the six-hour bus ride down TO Quy Nhon was fresh in my mind, I didn’t want to do that again, at least right now, so opted for the train. And I have to say, having ACCESS to a train as an option IS a nice treat.

The price of the 4–5-hour train ride was all of about $14, and as I scouted around for a room in Nha Trang, I came across the FUSE hostel, which I was familiar with it since we had one in Hoi An, and it looked like a pretty cool place to stay. I usually get private rooms to myself, but since I could get a bed in a four-bed dorm, I figured I could handle that for a few nights. At least we had our own bath, which is convenient, and it was just a 10-minute walk to the beach. Oh, and the price was $7 a night.

I booked the train ticket, got to the station, which was MUCH nicer than I expected, and looked new. I admit, I was a bit confused trying to read a Vietnamese train schedule, which was more of a learning experience and a confirmation that I WAS at the right station. I actually did a one-minute video that might be helpful if you plan to use a Vietnamese train. There are several different options for seating:

> Hard seat

> Soft seat

> Sleeper beds for 4

> And sleeper beds for 6

For a four-hour ride I didn’t see the need for a sleeper bed, so opted for the soft seat, which was actually pretty nice. The seat was comfy, it reclined, and the most important thing missing from the BUS was plentiful: bathrooms. There were several there, most were full baths, but one had only a squatty toilet, which is doable in an emergency. The ride was comfortable, nice views along the way, and they offered different refreshments on the train. I passed on that since I had a decent meal beforehand and looked forward to having a more conventional meal when I got to my room. No question, this train couldn’t compare to a European one in Italy, Spain, or most of Europe, but knowing that you can cover almost 1100 miles from Hanoi to Ho Chih Minh city is a HUGE benefit in Vietnam. By the way, if you did that ENTIRE ride, it would take 31-35 hours, so keep that in mind if you consider such a thing. Kat and I have talked about training from Da Nang to Hanoi, which is just under 500 miles, and takes 15-17 hours. Definitely a sleeper car!!

My time in Nha Trang will be a whole new post since there’s a lot to share, but I can say that SO FAR, of all the places we’ve checked out as far as settling down spots in Vietnam, Da Nang is still Numero uno. Finding that elusive Goldilock’s Zone—and I know most of you know what I’m talking about—is really hard and time consuming. Where is not too hot? Too cold? Too big, or small; too this or that? Goldilocks had to muddle through only three beds to find the one that was “just right,” but finding a place to LIVE is much more difficult. We went through the same process in the Balkans, and concluded that Albania, specifically Tirana, is OUR sweet spot. At least in the non-winter months. The low winter temps were the deal killers for us. But ASIA has many more options to choose from—even just in Vietnam—but half the fun is the searching!