Despite its name, the Reunification Express, which travels the 1700 kms between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, does not travel very fast.  Average speeds are a leisurely 50 kmh, making for a journey time between the two cities something in the region of 36 hours.  My own journey was only as far as Da Nang, still an overnight journey of 14 hours.

I was booked in a four-berth sleeper.  First class as far as the train went.  And my experience?  First class, too, as far as I was concerned.

I appreciated the little touches in my cabin.  The pretty pink flower in a vase on the table by the window.  The surprising flock-pattern wallpaper.  The bunks were comfortable––I always sleep well on an overnight train––and the bedding perfectly adequate.  There was space for luggage either beneath the bunks, or in the alcove above the door.

If I had one complaint it was that the air conditioning was so efficient that I actually felt rather cold, and this despite tropical temperatures outside.

The services were better than I expected.

The toilets were Western-style––clean during my journey––although not greatly stocked with loo-roll––but what kind of traveller would I be if I didn’t bring plenty of stocks of my own. 

There was a hot-water tap at the end of each carriage; a decent sink for washing and teeth-scrubbing; and a guard, who was only occasionally asleep.

During daylight hours, a food trolley regularly patrolled the carriage corridor.  It served pot noodles; a rice, sausage and fried egg breakfast; occasional home-made spring rolls; and copious amounts of Vietnamese coffee laced with sweet, condensed milk.  There was no need to bring your own food; travellers were never short of sustenance.  And, if the on-board service was not to your liking, there were food-vendors aplenty on the platforms at every station stop.

Outside, too, the scenery was never-failingly interesting, and I spent countless pleasant hours looking out of the train window, observing the slow-passing of the vibrant, green rice fields; black water buffalo; flocks of white ducks; the occasional iconic conical-hatted worker.

As overnight trains go, I would rate the Reunification Express as a top experience.

© E. C. Glendenny

E. C. Glendenny gets comfy for another good bunk-up.

E. C. Glendenny is the author of Free and Easy: Selected Travel Writing.