Crossing Hai Van Pass by Vietnam Railway

Memories of the trip circa 2018

Hai Van Pass is a mountain pass between Danang and Hue, Vietnam,
It is quite a beautiful pass.

There are many ways to travel between Hue and Da Nang,
Personally, I like traveling by Vietnam Railways the best.
I personally like to take the Vietnam Railways because the area over the Hai Van Pass is very beautiful.

By the way, I don’t have any special feelings for trains.
If anything, I dislike trains.

There is a train from Da Nang to Hue that leaves around 8 or 9 am and arrives around 12 or 1 pm in the afternoon, which is just right.

It is often said that Vietnamese trains are often delayed.
In reality, however, the trains are surprisingly on time.

We arrived at Da Nang station around 9:00 a.m., a little early for departure.
First of all, I bought a ticket.
The ticket was like an e-ticket vending machine,
The counter with people was simplified.
I didn’t make a reservation on the Internet, so I bought a ticket at the counter where there were people.

But there are no people 。。。。
Well, this kind of thing often happens in Vietnam,
Don’t panic. I waited patiently.
After a few minutes, the woman in charge of ticketing came back and issued my ticket.

I wanted to buy the cheapest hard seat, but the seat was full,
I bought a soft seat with air conditioner.

By the way, my personal impression of each seat is,
Hard seat = cheapest. Hard seats = cheapest, no air conditioning, wooden chairs at right angles, but the chaos that you can’t get in Japan is great (but it’s tough if you’re on a flight for more than 3 hours).

Soft seats = halfway upscale, not upscale at all. Soft seats = halfway upscale, not upscale by any means.

Sleeper = most expensive. But more beautiful than expected. Comfortable.

I have an impression that it is the most expensive.

There is an automatic ticket gate, but a person stands and checks the ticket manually,
You have to go through the automatic ticket gate which is not automatic,

Departure!!!!!!!!

Soft seat seats with a little bit of luxury

All seats are reserved, though,
I sat down by intuition because I couldn’t see the number well. I think it should be “19”.

On the way to
Unfortunately, it was raining on the High Van Pass

But beautiful even in the rain.

Arrived in Hue about one o’clock in the afternoon.
Eat Hue’s specialties. Drink. Play.

And back home.

The train arrived about 15 minutes late.
I bought a beer at the platform kiosk and boarded the train.

Even though it is only 3 hours to Da Nang
Sleeping berths are comfortable after all!

The weather is great on the way back
And over the High Van Pass again.

Yes, I think to myself, what a wonderful world

Extra: Bicycle trip from Da Nang to Hue