{"id":213,"date":"2025-01-29T09:02:50","date_gmt":"2025-01-29T08:02:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/travel.thatmanmatt.com\/?p=213"},"modified":"2025-01-29T09:02:50","modified_gmt":"2025-01-29T08:02:50","slug":"day-10-ny-se1-sun","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/travel.thatmanmatt.com\/index.php\/2025\/01\/29\/day-10-ny-se1-sun\/","title":{"rendered":"Day 10: NY, SE1 & SUN"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Ch\u00fac m\u1eebng n\u0103m m\u1edbi <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Yes indeed the day has finally arrived. Happy lunar new year. And what a wet start it was. Me and the two Aussies huddled under a bridge along with a few tens of locals to watch a firework display happening on the other bank, from around the Imperial City. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Me, looking like a contestant on Stars In Their Eyes \u2013 Rain Edition.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It was a good fifteen minutes long, but despite the stiff wind and rain, the smoke really obscured about two-thirds of the effects from our viewpoint. And then it was 00:15 and everyone went home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

SE1: Hu\u1ebf to \u0110\u00e0 N\u1eb5ng<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Up at some ungodly hour (09:00) to get breakfast and to the station to catch the 10:39 SE1 service. To my slight astonishment it arrived bang on time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The journey to \u0110\u00e0 N\u1eb5ng is mostly uneventful until<\/em> the track navigates a pinch point where Hu\u1ebf province becomes \u0110\u00e3 N\u00e2ng province. The track grips onto a mountainside to the west, falling away to the sea in the east. There are tight bends, some tunnels and quite amazing views as headlands come and go. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sadly my seat was on the \u201cwrong\u201d side of the carriage so I had to take photos and videos through the half-open window in the vestibule. For sure, one unexpected lurch and that would be the end of my phone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Built by the French Colonial Administration, it\u2019s a remarkable piece of engineering. Usually only a handful of trains per day make the journey from H\u00e0 N\u1ed9i to Ho Chi Minh City, but during T\u1ebft there\u2019s something like eighty services per day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each one must lumber up one side and slide back down the other. The linkages between carriages squeak and groan, the wheels squeal on the rails as they are hauled slowly, painfully slowly to the apex before the relief of gravity takes over and the brakes take on the squeaking role. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a minor train nerd, I loved it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Views leaving Hu\u1ebf. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Views leaving Hu\u1ebf. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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View to the mountains on the pass. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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View to the sea on the pass. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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View across a headland. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The special New Year \u201cartist\u2019s carriage\u201d.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ll add some videos when I get a chance to upload them. Best turn the volume down before watching\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

H\u1ed9i An: it\u2019s sunny<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019ll have spotted from the photos that the clouds dissipated on the journey. Here in H\u1ed9i An, it\u2019s pretty sunny. I\u2019ll have to buy sun cream, which makes a nice change from, well, the entire journey up to now. <\/p>\n

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Ch\u00fac m\u1eebng n\u0103m m\u1edbi Yes indeed the day has finally arrived. Happy lunar new year. And what a wet start it was. Me and the two Aussies huddled under a bridge along with a few tens of locals to watch a firework display happening on the other bank, from around the Imperial City. It was […]<\/p>\n

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