The Reunification Express

The iconic 1,072-mile Hanoi-to-Saigon railway line, originally laid by the French, was one of the first pieces of infrastructure to be restored in the post-war years, and the trains that run on it were soon unofficially christened the Reunification Express. The entire journey takes about 34 hours, and there are usually several trains in motion in each direction at any one time, with most featuring sleeping cars. The frequency means you can choose to do any section of the journey either by day or overnight.

If you choose daylight – and the section between Da Nang and Hue is a spectacular slice of coastal scenery – reserve a seat. These trains are popular because they are inexpensive and jog along at a steady pace, allowing them to keep comfortably to timetable – so they book up fast.

The carriages are not new, but all have air conditioning and are relatively clean, and the locomotives have that granular sheen of painted-over rust. As elsewhere in Asia, sleeping cars offer a choice of “hard” or “soft” berths – though despite the names, the mattress, sheet and blanket are the same in both. The only difference is the number of cabin occupants: six in hard, four in soft.

If you are a duo travelling together and want some privacy, it is worth booking all four berths in soft – though don’t forget that sharing a cabin is an excellent way to meet people and get a better insight into the culture. On my most recent trip, I met Tri, who fled Vietnam aged 18 in the late 1970s, ending up in England. He spoke no English at the time, but within two years had won a scholarship to Oxford. My overnight journey was all the richer for our conversation.