TRAVELS TO VIETNAM PART 2 HANOI
It seemed impossible to live this
close to Vietnam and not visit. So with Da Nang just 1 hour and 40 minutes from Bangkok’s Don Mueang International Airport it was time to explore and report back. Last month in Part 1 of our travel series about Vietnam I wrote about Da Nang and if you missed this article it is still available to view online at pattayatrader.com or discoverpattayamagazine.com This month we are looking at the journey from Da Nang to Hanoi.
When Lonely Planet listed the world’s most incredible train journeys to book in 2025, the North-south railway in Vietnam came in as the number one experience. Commonly known as the Reunification Express, it connects Ho Chi Minh City in the south with Hanoi in the north (about 1,726 kms). One of the most famous sections of the route is the coastal line that passes between Da Nang and Hue, the country’s historic,former imperial capital. This is often considered one of the most beautiful railway segments in all of Southeast Asia.So we decided this would be our chosen transportation from Da Nang to Hanoi.
We boarded our train at Da Nang’s picturesque station and found our seats.Unfortunately the QR code in our cabin didn’t seem to keep the promise of an enticing catalogue of services that could be ordered and brought to your seats. Perhaps we were just unlucky at the time we travelled but when a ticket collector passed by I asked if I could order noodles, beer and flower petal foot soak and was just met with the universal sign of crossed arms denoting that all of those were “Off”. So we had to make do with the exciting challenge of jumping off the train at certain stations to buy some snacks and drinks from the platform vendors and getting back on before the time the train left..
So if the in-train experience was not quite as we had hoped, we were certainly not disappointed by the views as we passed through some of the country’s most scenic landscapes.The train curved along the mountainside past dramatic coasts where lush green hills met the deep blue waters of the South China Sea. As the train moved slowly along the cliffs and through short tunnels it gave us plenty of time to appreciate the scenery.
My advice when booking this train is to go for the most expensive cabin you can afford. Even so do not expect luxury of something like a “Blue Jasmine” experience but you will get air conditioning and seats that will convert to night time bunks with a modicum of bedding. Pretty essential for the night time portion of this 16 hour journey. Also, I quite enjoyed the nostalgia of an overnight train journey. As children my brother and I would sometimes do this when going to Italy and being lulled to sleep with the repetitive sound of the train on the tracks kind of lulls you to sleep.
So it was that with a reasonable night’s sleep – somewhat aided by our platform dash beer purchases we arrived at Hanoi station. Somewhat bleary eyed we grabbed a taxi to our hotel and dumped our bags. Then it was straight off to train street – can’t get enough of trains! For some much needed coffee. Also by getting to Train street in the morning we avoided the crowds and got a seat at a table right near the tracks as the train came trundling through – quite the thrilling experience!
To also continue our love of
Vietnamese coffee we had to try Egg Coffee (cà phê trứng) as it originated in Hanoi in the 1940s. The beverage was created by Nguyễn Văn Giảng, a bartender at the famous Sofitel Legend Metropole Hotel. He came across the clever idea of whisking egg yolks with sugar and condensed milk,to replace milk during a time when milk was scarce.The result? A rich frothy topping for strong Vietnamese coffee.after leaving the Sofitel Giảng,opened his own cafe in Hanoi’s It still serves the traditional recipe today but you can enjoy Hanoi’s egg coffee all over the capital including the cafes in Train Street.
Made with the usual robust Vietnamese coffee, the whipped egg yolk, sugar, and sweetened condensed milk mixture tastes rather like a liquid tiramisu. Although I was glad we were trying it in the morning. The bold, slightly bitter coffee at the bottom with the sweet, custard-like cream on top certainly helped kick start our day but it could all too easily become addictive. Not too good for the waist line I’m thinking and not too good to help with a good night’s sleep I’m sure. Still it was absolutely delicious and what a special place to try it.
Train street firmly ticked as our first Hanoi experience, we were looking forward to the next 3 days and the other delights to try whilst in this vibrant Vietnamese capital city. However, our first decision was to not repeat the train journey back to Da Nang -but get an internal flight for our return – you can have too much of a good thing (haha).