Overnight train from Na Thrang to Da Nang, Mon.22.01.07

Good evening All. We are about to catch the overnight train and have the luxury of a bunk bed each in a room of 4. We wonder what the couple will be like that we are sharing with - not snorers, hopefully. The train departs at 8pm and arrives at Da Nang at 5am. We are told to arrive 30 minutes prior, at the railway station. And so, arriving a bit early we sit in the waiting room and wait. The place soons fills up, and fills up! People of all descriptions arrive, many of the women and children already in their pyjamas and with toothbrushes in their hands. Despite the toothbrushes we resemble 'the great unwashed'. The waiting room heaves. We learn that there is no food or drink available on the train so we buy some bread rolls and triangular cheeses and a big bottle of water. A member of staff who appears to be guiding people and moving people along etc. is suddenly at my side and produces a knife and proceeds to cut our bread rolls down the middle. She looks up obligingly and smiles at me. I feel confused. Maybe she is expecting a tip for this unsolicitored service, but actually my predominant concern is: 'Have you washed your hands?'. Within a short time she is here again asking 'Would we like a cup of coffee?'. We reply 'yes please'. She is back with 2 plastic cups only a 1/3 full (if that!) demanded 10,000 dong (which is about 30pence) and it is drinking chocolate, strong, thick and sweet. It's drinkable. The loudspeaker makes an unintelligalbe announcement, which is followed by a sudden surge of people scrambling towards the doors to the platform. Our Cob-cutting assistant is back again and beckons us to stay seated, she explains, 'People, people - too many'. within a minute another assistant comes up to us and makes frantic gestures for us to join the queue. We start to obey this latest order when our 'CCA' (cob-cutting assistant) returns, pushing us gently back into our seats. This is really comical.We are the laughing pawns in their game.This exercise is repeated in precisely the same sequence a few more times. It actually feels quite good to be part of an aerobics class again with two instructors! Our CCA finally and with astonishing urgency is now gathering us up and propelling us towards the platform doors. She examines our tickets. We follow her. We jump down on the lines and climb up the other side of the track on to the opposite platform, flinging our rucksacks 'over the top'(as it were) before us. We pass a long queue of people and walk for a good few mintues before she comes to a halt. I spy a 'WC' sign and crossing the track make my way towards it. Someone jumps out at me demanding a 1,000 dong to use the loo. My CCA is at my side and acts as mediator. She produces a key to the loo and goes inside first and I hear swishing noises and then she lets me in. It is a 'squat loo'- easier for the chaps to aim straight!. We continue to wait at our designated spot. I spy our CCA sitting on the opposite side of the platform with an old woman and two small children. The children wave at us shyly. The women are pointing. We wave back. The children are excited and hide behind the women. We play beekaboo and contine to exchange energetic waves. But between you, me and the gatepost I am not comfortable and feel embarressed at such a silly display of 'hot air'. I can't wait for this train to appear, which very soon it does. Our CCA also does. She stands infront of us and is giggling and pointing to the children and saying 'Mummy and Daddy'. She covers her mouth with her hand to smother the erupting giggles. I deduce from this spectacle that the children thought that Leigh and I were their parents. I know this deduction is a nonsense so what else could she mean? Anyway, next moment she is making everyone stand back and creates a space for us to go first; she carries my rucksack and we follow her on to the train. Eventually she turns into one of the many cabins and flings my rucksack on a top bunk and turns and beams at us. We thank her and give her a tip of 20,000 dong. (30,000 dong is a quid!). She looks happy, smiles and shakes hands and she is gone.

This is a 4 berth, air conditioned cabin and you cannot swing a cat. The choice of activity for the next 9 hours is to either lie on your bunk or stand outside the toilet with people pushing past you at regular intervals. A late-thirties Chinese-Vietnamese couple enter the cabin and make themselves 'at home'. They are in the bunks below us and there is a small table between them. They place cans of Heineken, a packet of biscuits, fruit and a bottle of water on the table and then they proceed to 'party'. I say 'hello' cheerfully; they respond with an unenthusiastic grunt. We lie on our beds and read. The bunk is so small you can really only lie on your back. The noise below increases. They talk constantly like loud twittering birds. Clearly 'out of sight out of mind'. Leigh and I are out of sight, but their din obtrudes. Hour after hour their incessant babble proceeds forth. However after several hours the fascinaton began to fade, giving way to irritation. I surmised that they must be in love, a honeymoon couple noneless, or maybe an eloping couple. How otherwise could one explain that level of intensity? They must have uttered 100,000 words between them (or maybe each?). Leigh was passing me more and more looks of sheer exasperation. Yes, it is truly annoying, but what can one do? We just have to put up with it. We managed to negotiate 'lights out' at around 11.pm. Alas, with that small victory it was the only thing that went out. The loud conversation went on, as before. She was worse in terms of volume. As her sentence progressed she would get louder reaching almost crescendo heights before sliding down the volume scale again. It was shrill and penetrating. By any stretch of the imagination it was outrageously inconsiderate. If only my CCA were with me now. She'd sort them out!I didn't have to wish this for long though because quite suddenly in the gloom I heard Leigh's questioning voice boom angrily: 'Rita, how long do you think we will have to put up with this?'. Instantly seeing the prospect of a fight in the making in the confinement of this hot little room, I offered appeasement. 'Oh, it is not personal Leigh. They can't help it. It is their culture.' To our mutual astonishnment, a heavy silence filled the air. Not a sound other than the air conditioning. (I lay there smiling thinking of Adrian's story in the YHA dormitory of the cut class English accent ineffectively imploring 'Oh, do shut up!' to Adrian's imperious, 'Shut up!'. Leigh's outburst may have been more verbose but it was as effective. I also thought how fortuitous that you cannot swing a cat in here...