Shake with the speed of the train
The North-South trains departing from Hanoi Station to Saigon Station and vice versa, all last more than 30 hours, so they are not the optimal choice for busy people. However, if you have more than a day of free time, taking the "suyen Viet" train is an interesting and colorful experience, especially for those who are passionate about exploring.
One evening in early June, the hot weather began to get around, the streets were bustling, I said goodbye to my friends in Ho Chi Minh City, took the SE12 train back to the North, and took one of the most memorable promising experiences.
At exactly 8:55 p.m., train SE12 slowly left Saigon Station. I began my journey back South to North on my distant iron convoy. Booking a ticket at the last minute with only a bed on the 3rd floor in a 6-bedroom room, I hung around with a big crab, sleeping in the act of shaking. Outside the windows, there are only flickering street lights, but inside the ship, there is a miniature world of visitors from all over the world and small, big stories as gifts.
At 6am the next day, the train entered Nha Trang station. While I was still sleeping, I asked an employee to find a way from the 10th carriage to the food carriage, which is also the train's kitchen. In the middle of the road, I immediately encountered a morning vendor selling a truck of sticky rice noodles, boiled corn, and balut, so I could not resist and immediately bought a hot, foul-smelling sticky rice corn.
Go with a sleeperless carriage and pass through 2 new soft carriages to the eating carriage, immediately order a bowl of beef noodles (shrimp) to fill your stomach. The early morning sunlight is all kinds of, the small carriage has 4 tables. I sat alone and wavered at the bowl of noodles and the dining table as the train ran, at this time, tricking to remove each tray of noodles without letting them fall is also a skill.
While eating and admiring the scenery on the roadside, the coastal scenery of Khanh Hoa is muddy and flows through the window. The whole bowl of noodles was sold out, then I ate the corn, sipped half the corn and saw myself in Phu Yen. The train runs through the Da Rang railway bridge (along Nguyen Tat Thanh Avenue, Tuy Hoa). From the carriage window, I attentionfully look at the vivid picture.
Admiring the homeland
Perhaps the most interesting thing about taking the train is that each window is like a frame imbued with cinematic art that everyone hesitates to look at every time they pass by. The sun rises, the scenery changes, sometimes houses are bustling along the road, sometimes fields are vast, sometimes the sea is endlessly forested. Nature, earth, sky and people keep jostling. Not only children and young people taking a train for the first time, but the whole group of middle-aged and elderly people often work three jobs, when getting on the train and having more free time, they all look out at the windows to see their hometown.
At noon, the SE12 train just reached its peak in the Binh Dinh - Quang Ngai section, the sea scenery has changed to the sedge field scene during the harvest season. Green shoots are spreading the road. Just behind the train passing through Duc Pho station, I constantly look at the dry and somewhat wild places in the sun, and I miss the pages of "Nhat ky Dang Thuy Tram". Every time I see the place I have read in the book appear before my eyes, I feel a little excitement in my chest.
At 4:00 p.m., after everyone was busy moving, I knew I had arrived at Da Nang station and in just a moment the train would pass through the most beautiful route of the North-South railway line, which is Hai Van Pass. This road is so beautiful that I climbed out of bed and saw a long line of guests from the rooms pouring out into the hallway, forcing people into the glass windows to see Lang Co, one of the most beautiful bays in the world.
For an hour, the train was slowly running through the pass, everyone was whispering, praising the beautiful sea and sky of their homeland. Children aged 5 to 7 are close to the window glass and do not look at the camera. Those who return to their hometowns or travel while listening to the phone while looking out at the distant tattooed horizon, the blue sea, and the smooth white sand covering every curved section of the train line. Another sister exclaimed: "Just take a photo of all the phone memory lost". Another sister told her husband: "I've been here all the time and haven't seen anything at night, now that I've seen it all day, my eyes are awful".
I am reminded that I took a train to the market on the Da Nang - Hue route 11 years ago for a student ticket price of 30,000 VND. At that time, there were hard chairs, surrounded by traders, popular customers took short trips, the train car doors were still open to welcome the cool breeze, and street vendors went up and down to sell goods every time they stopped at the small station. Lads are squat, the rows of households are full on the floor. At that time, it seemed like I was alone, negligent in looking out the window while looking at Lang Co, I was both excited and scared because the train track was close to the mountainside and could be seen right under the steep cliff.
Returning to reality with the SE12 ship, after passing through the tunnel, pass and seeing many beautiful sections of the sea, the ship entered Hue at sunset. The sparkling afternoon sunshine sliding through the rows of casuarina trees, fields, and lagoons flooded with water.
8pm was overwhelming as the ship was approaching Quang Binh and Quang Tri. I didn't see anything outside the windows anymore. Inside the room, everyone had dinner, the stories gradually subsided. At 10pm, the room's lights were turned off and the air conditioners gradually cooled down, so I continued. At 6am the next morning, the train arrived at Thanh Hoa station, my journey ended with a memory filled with photos and videos.
