Have you ever traveled by train in Vietnam? I tell you right away that it is an experience to live. Far from the TGV, if you don’t speak Vietnamese, it will be for you an immersion in another world… friendly and… I must say a little rustic. Imagine going from Hanoi to HCMC in about 40 hours!!! #MustSeeInVietnam Editor
Hanoi’s last train of 2022 left Saturday evening carrying 94 passengers for Ho Chi Minh City, which it will reach Monday morning.
At 7.20 p.m. the crew of SE1 was getting it ready for the last cross-country ride of the lunar year, which ended Saturday.
It took 20 minutes to replace a rail car due to a technical difficulty.
Some foreigners showed up at the last minute to buy tickets, and the counter clerks speeded up things so that they could board.
Kitchen crew decorate the dining area where passengers later counted down the new year.
“15 minutes before midnight the staff will invite passengers to the dining area to celebrate the new year,” crew member Nguyen Xuan Khanh said.
A group of nearly 30 foreign passengers get on board. They were traveling to Thua Thien Hue Province.
“This will be the first time my family celebrate the New Year on a train,” Tran Trung Kien of Nghe An Province said. “I hope we can still see fireworks at midnight.”
Train conductor Pham Van Thuc, 51, said he has celebrated the New Year 10 times on the train.
“I am sad I have to work while most people are spending time with their family. The staff will celebrate the New Year together.”
A Ministry of Transport official came on board to give customers and staff li xi (red envelope), a traditional gift of cash to wish good luck to the recipient.
At 10.15 p.m. the train departed.
Passengers, mostly traveling short distances or tourists wanting to experience Tet, wave goodbye to station staff as the train leaves.
Across the country, hundreds of staff have been deployed at grade crossings through the holiday to ensure safety.
By Ngoc Thanh for E.VnExpress.net
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