Postcard from Vietnam 5

One of the greatest benefits of travelling by train in Vietnam is that it provides an excellent opportunity to view the beautiful landscape at a leisurely pace.  Trains in Europe are designed to get you from one place to another as soon as possible but to journey by rail in Vietnam fulfils the Chinese proverb which says ‘the journey is the reward’

Departing from Ga Saigon (from the French word for railway station – Gare) I was amazed at how close people live, work, play, eat and sleep to the single track that carves a narrow corridor through the tightly packed neighbourhoods of north western Saigon. One more metre to left or right and we would have been travelling through their living rooms, barber shops and bars.

After a while, the scenery opens out and we are in a watery landscape of rice paddies, lakes and small towns. Our train starts to climb to higher ground and the scenery and the light changes. This region reminds me of the Highlands of Scotland in many ways. The hills rise steeply both sides of our train and the lush green of the lowlands has given way to a starker landscape with fewer trees and villages and dusty roads that are less travelled I think. But the best is yet to come.

From the comfort of my sleeper carriage on Vietnam Railways, the landscape gently rolls past the window like a documentary film. In this seemingly idyllic land every view is worth painting and the fields and villages, themselves, seem to have been touched by the artist’s brush. 

If you take the midnight train from Saigon, you will arrive at the coastal town of Nha Trang at dawn. From here the single train track hugs the beautiful coastline which is dotted with romantic islands and purple peninsulas backlit by the rising sun. The views of the East Sea shimmering in the low light of a fresh morning are breath-taking.

On one of my journeys, this hour was marked by the arrival of the breakfast trolley carrying a large bucket of fresh, hard boiled, eggs. These delicious treats are served with a pinch of the ubiquitous chilli salt presented in a little recycled paper wrapper. Mine was part of page of an old train timetable – how apt!

As Vietnam wakes to another day, you can see people tending their gardens and allotments beside the train track. A cowherd takes his cattle and calves to pasture. A lone motorcyclist spins down a country road easily keeping pace with the train. Workers make an early start in the green and gold fields at the coolest time of day. Teams of women, in their conical hats, are gathering in the hay to make haystacks reminiscent of those in Monet’s paintings of rural France in the late 1800s.

Travelling along the single track railway that runs the length of Vietnam is truly one of this country’s hidden delights. It may be slow but I cannot think of any good reason to rush through this fascinating and varied landscape.

Published in OI Vietnam - July 2013 click here