Train v. Plane

I still can't see my blog. But I'll keep posting in hopes that the rest of the world can and that it's just Da Nang, Vietnam that is missing out on my random ramblings about my travels.

Right now I'm writing this entry from a (free!) internet connection in the Da Nang airport's Business Class lounge. That's right. This trip just got a little bit more high class. At least for Laura and me. Unfortunately, last I saw Everett he was sitting in the middle of a train car brimming with Vietnamese people, smelling of dead fish and headed for Hanoi.

Let me explain.

As I've said, I gave Everett Vietnam. And I've tried very hard to let it be his. We've walked through intense heat to view random pagodas, we've eaten at restuarants I probably would have passed by and we've stayed at hotels that wouldn't have been at the top of my list. But I've had a great time and Everett has been a natural leader.

Unfortunately, things changed a little today. Last night Everett purchased us three tickets for $30 a piece to take an 18 hour train ride to Hanoi from Da Nang. The train left at 1 p.m. today and would arrive at 6 a.m. tomorrow. At the time, I briefly mentioned that maybe we should look at flights. Everett said that flights were very expensive. I beleieved him.

It wasn't until this morning though that I really began to consider what an 18 hour train ride was going to be like. I also started to consider that the distance between the two cities shouldn't merit that much time on a train. I asked Everett how long a flight took. He told me "over three hours." I said that didn't seem right. He said "have you ever looked at a map?" I said "yes."

After my shower this morning, I decided to do some checking online regarding flights to Hanoi. I had to do this in secret due to the fact that Vietnam is Everett's country and any planning outside "the plan" does not go over well. What I discovered was a bit of a surprise. Tickets to Hanoi, according to expedia cost $140 and the flight was one hour.

I hesitantly went to Everett, saying that it wasn't that I wanted to deviate from the plan, but I was growing increasingly suspicious of this train ride. He persisted in saying we should take the train. I said it was his country and agreed.

As our taxi pulled into the train station I glared at Everett and he began laughing. It was PACKED with people. All of them were Vietnamese and all of them were staring at us like we'd lost our minds. Or at least our way.

Walking in to the small room, there were stalls where you could buy food - obviously there would be no food on the train. Laura and I hurriedly purchased such healthy snacks as Pringles, Ritz Crackers and Oreos as that was all that was available other than raw eggs, random unfamiliar meats and some nut concoctions that I had never seen anything quite like.

I glared at Everett again. He laughed again.

When the train arrived, I seriously felt like I was in a movie. It's impossible to describe the entire experience. I have two photos of the outside of the train that I will post eventually, but they won't do it.

It was old. Obviously. The windows were almost impossible to see through due to smeared dirt and grime. Random people were yelling, trying to sell everything from bracelets to small pigs as you boarded the train. The people on the train looked like they'd moved in. There were colorful, dirty dish towels hanging everywhere and trash scattered along the floor and among the seats. We had paid extra for "soft seats" (something that in retrospect should have said a lot about the conditions we were in for) and as we boarded the hot train, which smelled like the inside of a trashcan in a women's bathroom in a hot public place, I realized that my "soft seat" would be facing backwards for the entire 18 hours. That is a recipe for disaster for someone with my unfortunate motion sickness tendencies. I also realized that there wasn't an empty seat on the train and that I would be sitting two seats up from a toothless man who had some serious staring issues. I may have started to use some bad language at this point. Everett kept laughing.

We sat down, I pulled out my dramamine, thinking that I would pay $100 for a nose clamp if anyone was selling those, and I began to beg Everett to take the plane. At one point, I offered to buy the plane tickets for all three of us. He told me that if I wanted to take the plane, he could split from Laura and me. I told him I didn't want to split up in a third world communist country. He told me then I had to stay on the train. He said it would be "an experience he'd remember forever." I agreed, because vomiting all over a train car full of people who don't speak English would probably remain in my memory for some time.

I sat for a moment longer and asked Laura what she wanted to do. She turned to Everett and begged him to let us get off the train. He said no. I was definitely angry at this point, but I had resigned myself to staying on the train.

Then, a woman carrying a bag of dead fish walked by me and had to pause at my seat to let another woman, selling small, jade trinkets walk by her. The fish did it. I stood up, announcing that I was getting off the train. Laura begged Everett one last time. I grabbed my bags, strapped on my pack and walked off while a lot of train officials looked very perplexed. Laura followed me.

We walked past about 50 people trying to ask us "why?" but as I don't speak Vietnamese, it was going to be pretty difficult to explain my reasoning in any sort of unoffensive way.

Walking out of the train station, we caught a taxi for 4 dollars to the airport where at the Vietnam Airlines counter they told us there were only two seats left on the next flight to Hanoi. The seats were $90 each and they were Business Class.

So now, 45 minutes after our narrow escape, we're happily enjoying complimentary Diet Pepsi in the Business Class lounge. Unfortunately, I'm a little worried about Everett. However, we'll be meeting him tomorrow in Hanoi and I'm sure he'll have plenty of good stories from his "experience he'll remember forever." I'm just glad I don't have to remember it forever.