day 2 of 7: 20-hour train ride. we took the 7pm train from ho chi minh city on the first day, and reached hue (central vietnam) at about 4pm. 20-hour train ride was hell from start to finish. to be honest i won’t recommend this to anyone. if you want to take the train, do yourself a favour and just take the danang–hue route for the sights.

the first hour was a little surreal. it felt a little like we were in some post-apocalyptic era, on board the train to some quarantine camp. after fatigue set it, the hours just stretched. we’d sleep for an hour and stay awake for two. thank god there was no stench. one of the aunties sitting behind me – we nicknamed her TB aunty. boiled balut eggs were served on board (i actually wanted to try them). there was a dubbed screening of home alone: new york at 8pm and vietnamese opera at 2pm.

the view from the window as the train pulled through the morning fog:

(hello, lens fungus.)

day 1 of 7: best phở ever, meeting kevin + sam, lots of sitting around and watching the traffic. this was my second time in ho chi minh city. the one significant difference i noticed upon arriving (beside the samsung advertisements all over the place) was the fact that it’s now possible to take a coffee break – at an american coffee chain. i don’t remember seeing coffee bean the last time i was here…

the traffic’s the same, though.

back from vietnam. survived!

bela tarr’s sátántangó

off for a short jaunt through the vietnamese landscape (urban and non-). not sure how i’m going to survive – i don’t want to be tied to a lamp post.

edit:- blog layout updated for larger photos! i might decide to go bigger, we’ll see.