Train Travel
Train travel is my favorite mode of travel. It’s in my genes. My grandpa worked on the Burlington Northern Railroad and there was always train memorabilia scattered throughout my grandparent’s house growing up. I’ve traveled across the US multiple times via train and up to Canada. To wrap up my final two weeks in Vietnam I thought why not hop on a train along the coast? So, Les Go Train Hoppin.
Glorious Da Nang
This trip started out a lil funky due to COVID-19 virus. Let’s be clear, I planned this trip hella time before this outbreak. I am not one them millennials capitalizing on cheap airfare during a pandemic but, a bitch wasn’t gonna cancel her trip, either. Before boarding the plane both hostels sent a message saying they were in quarantine and to basically not stay anywhere near their location. That was reassuring. But, with proper precautions we were able to get 5-star hotels for the low!
Let’s take a moment to acknowledge Da Nang. I’ve already written about DN in the past but I love that place. It is perfect. It has a great balance of city, beach, river, “mountains”, forests, and chill. The people are nice AF. Like, so got damn nice. You know you’ve been in your wrong element when you gush every time a stranger acknowledges your presence an smiles. I must of said, “they’re precious” bout 100 times per day. And it’s clean. CLEAN!! I was seriously looking for trash and I could not find it. The beaches and streets are clean due to a concerted effort. This shit is intentional and thought out and I am here for it! I didn’t see a got damn person throw their trash on the ground, that is shattering compared to what I’ve seen these past two years.
Da Nang to Hue
The sole purpose of this trip was to link up with my dear friend one last time in VN and see bangin ass views from a train. One was accomplished more than the other. See, the train from Da Nang to Hue glides along the coast and bends along “cliff” sides. It’s magical if you’re sitting on the correct side of the train. But, when some stranger takes your seat and is so engrossed in their reality of their cell phone the whole time sometimes you’ve jus gotta accept that defeat. But I was still able to poke my big ole head into another window seat at times.
The logistics of getting the train are super simple. We used this site which was shockingly accurate. The trains run pretty frequently and maybe it was because of the virus but, if wasn’t hella crowded. To get to Hue it takes about 3 hours. Not gonna lie, I slept for most of the way because train travel jus lulls me to sleep like a baby.
(Not so) Glorious Hue
See, I don’t know what I was thinkin of when I thought of Hue. Maybe it’s the cute lil name or the beautiful google images one sees when they look up Hue but, I was not impressed. It was kinda the opposite. The driving and mannerisms reminded me a little too much of big-city Hanoi for comfort. Funnily enough, I’ve been living in Vietnam for 2 years and I’ve never been propositioned to buy marijuana. Well, I guess I jus needed to go to Hue because every got damn grab driver was slangin. Felt like I was back living in Baltimore or some shit.
And the food. Oh my. I like to be adventurous when I travel and I think eating local cuisine is so important. I find food can give you so much insight and I love how it makes local people proud to shine through their food. So, I thought it was a good idea to order “tapioca shrimp”. It was classified as a Hue dish and though it didn’t sound too appetizing I thought, ‘what the hell!’
I should have thought again. I tried, y’all. I tried. But damn I couldn’t even get through one. The texture was like, you may guess, tapioca and the shrimp was a shriveled little guy that lacked all flavor. I felt hella bad because you know they worked hard on this. It’s def an art form but maybe I jus don’t have the eye to appreciate the art.
Vibes
After exploring a little bit through Hue we were eager to get back to chill ass Da Nang. Da Nang is vibey. That is my word for it. Once we reoriented back to Da Nang all the good vibes were with us. We capitalized on that shit. People who spend time around the ocean jus have an energy that exudes out of them. The most powerful, profound force, the ocean, vibrates this energy into everyone that comes in contact with her. For instance, we happened upon an eclectic ass little cafe which opened us to have thoughtful convos with French yogis who jus exuded positive energies.
As my friend boarded his plane back to Ho Chi Minh City I had proper time to reflect. I honestly feel life is beautiful. Sometimes it overwhelms me with emotion how profound this life is. Yea, there are vast amounts of traveling I want to do but, the human connections is what I yearn for. The deep relationships formed along that way is what drives me.
Les Go... 