Night train from Nha Trang

Last night we took the night train from Nha Trang, a beach side city where we enjoyed the Louisiane Brewhouse and pool, to Saigon. Honestly, I dreaded it after seeing the other trains in Vietnam which are quite grubby. But when we got on board the Blue Train, we were thrilled to find a really nice cabin with comfortable, clean bunks. One day, maybe by 2017, there will be a Shinkansen linking Hanoi to HCMC and the travel time will take 5.5 hours. Right now, Vietnam has very old trains and the trip takes 30 hours.

We arrived early in Saigon at 4 am and so were not picked up til 4:30am which was the scheduled time. Our guide, Hoang, and driver took us to the Caravelle for breakfast. The only places for breakfast that early are either road side stalls or 5 star restaurants. Actually, when we got to the Caravelle, the lights were off in the restaurant but by 5 am they turned them on and let us start eating soon after...thank goodness. We invited Hoang to join us and he said that he had never had a buffet breakfast in a fancy hotel before...I don't know if I can believe him or not but I would like to think we gave him some nice backsheesh off the bat for further good service.

We headed over to Cu Chi Tunnels and were the very first visitors! It opens at 7am and we got there shortly after and thank goodness because we had the place to ourselves and when we left at about 11am, the number of tourist buses was astonishing for such a tiny parking lot. The masses had arrived and we were off!

We were taken to our guesthouse, Hotel Vykhanh, which was down two little alley ways in an area that was quite seedy where our guide used to live and told us about drug busts. It was not appropriate for us. I had already checked to see if the place we stayed in with Papa was still available last night before the train. I wanted to know just in case we needed to change places but unfortunately, Mini Saigon Hotel #5 was fully booked. Tis the season.

So we checked-in at the Rex and were upgraded from the regular room to a suite which is very nice! The kids are resting while I type but in an hour, we'll walk to a nearby restaurant suggested to us by our guide for a vietnamese meal. It is in a French-style building behind the city hall and is apparently very inexpensive but has great food.

Tomorrow morning we leave for the Mekong Delta for an overnight trip on the Brassac. In a few more days, we'll be back in Singapore to see Papa! The kids have been doing just great. Amazing little troopers and I am so proud of them for traveling so well!