"Day 5 of Vietnam Trip - Hue" a Hue Travel Page by KhanhLy

Because there were no seat left on any of the 6 flights (in 2 days period) on Vietnam Airline, we took an overnight trip with the Unification Express Train from Hanoi to Hue. It was to be a 12 hour trip, traveling at 35mph. Even though it was air conditioned, blowing mostly humid air, and sheets, blankets and pillows were provided, it's no Orient Express.

For the 3 of us, we bought all 4 soft berth tickets. The train was loud but it was one of the best sleep that I had. I shared a room with my brother and dad. My father snored so loud! He could sleep anywhere. When the train was moving, it droned out my father's snoring, which helped me sleep. The train swayed from side to side while it's moving.

My father did not want to take the train because he had heard stories about people getting robbed on the train. Sometimes, rocks were thrown at the window to break it and they would just yank your luggage from your room. One of his friend told him that it was not so bad anymore. I did notice that the window in our room had only one pane left from the two-panes window.

Out of all the research I had done, no one had prepare me for this surprise. My brother came back from the restroom and told me it was a SQUATTER!!! And I just drank all that water.

For the majority of Vietnamese, Hue always remains the intellectual and artistic foyer of Vietnam. It always looks like a sleeping princess. It knows how to keep its charm and grace that it has had since the Champa occupation with its citadel, the Perfume river and above all the famous Thiên Mụ pagoda . The beauty of its women wearing the white tunic (áo dài) accompanied by a conical hat (nón bài thơ), the fineness of its poetry, the union of its parks and pagodas with varnished tiles, the culture of its mandarin court make it more charming, noble, and majestious.

I saw a couple of pictures of this bridge and wondered what's all the hoopla is about... I mean it's just a bridge!!! But my father told me a story about the bridge and why it's famous. He said that back in the old days, there was (I don't know if it's still there) an all girl school at the end of the bridge. When school let out, you can see all the young ladies wearing their school uniform, the white 'ao dai' and white pants, walking across the bridge. The soft wind blowing the hem of their ao dai, making it a beautiful sight.