The train was very dirty. By the time I got on near Mui Ne, others had already slept in the sheets. I paid for 1st class but the beds were not “soft”. The toilet was very disgusting. The train left late (~30 mins after departure time) and arrived very late (~2 hours after estimated arrival time). Not all of the announcements on the train were in English (although the one for Da Nang and some others was).
Hard bed - no air conditioner - full Cabins (3 Children + 2 Adults ) - in Total we are 7 People for 4 beds 😜 - next time we get a flight to the other destinations :)
I’d read some real horror stories about Vietnamese trains, but our first one was absolutely fine. It’s fairly shabby and basic looking, but no cockroaches (that we could see) in our cabin, but yes I think the bedding isn’t fresh. We saw a train guard refolding bedding and putting it back, BUT we didn’t need it, it wasn’t freezing like some trains are. Food was good and they sold beers too. Hot water, loo roll and soap in the toilets! Train left on time- arrived 30 mins late, but all in all a great journey with lovely views out of the window. We went with two kids too, they slept like logs!
Would’ve been better had my seat been able to recline however, it was broken so I had to sit upright for 14 hours. Not the most pleasant experience to be honest. Apart from that it was lovely, great views and service.
When we came to the train we found out that someone else is sleeping in our beds, they did not change bed linen or pillows, it was really cold so we had to use the dirty ones (gross). Before 7am they played loud music and made a lot of noise so it was impossible to sleep. The only plus was that the train was on time.
