Night train time! Playing Star Wars Top Trumps can pass the time!
Night trains lead to lack of sleep unless you’re a solid sleeper. Our two train experiences included friendly people who had the fourth upper bunk (above me) but then the second night train included a rocky, multi-stop travel that had us exhausted and quite tired of an announcer talking at us, in Vietnamese, every hour over the intercom about the next stop.
Make sure you go to the toilet right away if you know you’re coming to a stop as there will likely be locked doors between cabins which will stop you from any access…
Food, if you are picky, careful. Try to plan out food in advance. There was some food shared but really, nothing healthy… I was shocked by the lack of green when it came to selections.
Peeking out of the train provided us with many interesting views! Here is my favorite:
Love peeking out the train window. In Vietnam traveling.
In Hoi An, stopped at this cafe, pretty yummy food!
Visiting Hoi An was quite entertaining but when you have a sick little boy, fever went away within 24 hours, you don’t adventure too far out. My husband and I rotated individual adventures. It was lovely to partake in a massage after sleeping on tough mattresses in a sleeper train for a few nights. Then we also agreed that I should support the local economy a little by visiting a few tailor shops. Tricky part was that we were leaving within a days time, so I enjoyed quickly picking out different style shoes and sandals that would be created that afternoon. (Talk about instant gratification!) Interesting to get my two different sized feet accommodated in one purchase and in good quality to boot. Or sandal that is.
Dark but example of some of the things I had made for me…
Still dark but…
I was quite happy because I feel like I waste loads of money on shoes that I barely wear, so hooray for an alternative. I also supported a few other locals by finding designs for a few dresses, shirts, and even a pair of trousers that all fit like a glove, quite fun to pick out the fabric for all too! Now as far as negotiating goes, I am not a good example. I was uncomfortable about how some people sat and tried to talk down prices in two of the stores I was in, there was a tiny bit of wiggle room, not like Shenzhen where you drop prices by 50%… I refused to deal with that. Instead I asked about what I was getting, and found out that the shopkeepers wanted to treat me a little better. They told me that they would only use real leather, would add in a thin breathable lining inside my dresses and have my clothes ready for trying on/resizing within 5 hours. I am sure they were ready to lower prices a little bit but honestly, I got an incredible price on everything I bought, received smiles, positive comments, and walked away feeling good, not stressed. I really am focused on keeping mentally healthy.
Click to view slideshow.
Here’s the favorite shop I visited:
Shop tailor, best choice I made out of all the tailor shops…
Snake drink, tempting for the boys!
Relaxing around town for some visiting Hoi An includes renting a scooter and zipping over to the beach, shopping til they dropped, then eating delicious food (which I’m sure there was, I didn’t partake in much since I was more focused on getting chicken noodle soup and caring for my son..), and enjoying drinks in the evening. It was great to wander around old town, visit various shops, and simply have a little rxr time. In the morning, there was a great refreshing swimming pool for my family to enjoy, especially with the kiddo feeling better and we were so happy that the hotel helped us get reasonable priced laundry service and also a taxi.
Night train thought, as much as it is kind and nice to have three seats and be open to a fourth person in your sleeper car, it might be wise to simply book the fourth seat to avoid late night disturbances. Check the timing of your car as well, if you leave around four pm you have better experiences vs 7pm in regards to care and food. We also appreciate staff much more in Vietnam on night trains in comparison to the staff we dealt with in China. More willing to help, etc.
Another view from night train, market place on one of the stops.
Our next stop is Cambodia, took a long while to travel there since we took a bus… the bus had to take a detour because of low water at the time in the rivers, were supposed to go on a speed boat, easy enough to adapt to… just led to a really long ride. Here’s a glimpse of our bus ride.
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Filed under: Blog, Hong Kong, Style, World Awareness
