Super original title right?
There’s no singer in a smokey room, and it doesn’t smell like wine or cheap perfume.
Someone is playing jazz in the hallway though. There’s a rando in one of our bunks (and he could totally be a city boy) and it smells a lot like cigarettes and a little bit like feet, so it’s close enough.
Kelly is Very Lit about this train ride and has requested that I record it in vivid detail so I’m going to try my best.
Our cabin is small and made out of dark wood that wouldn’t be out of place in a house made in the 70s. We have four bunks in total, two of which we had to figure out how to release from their confines on the walls. They’re held in place by two little metal chains which makes me a little nervous about being the bottom bunk occupant.
We’ve stopped, which is a little concerning because it takes just a little too long at each place. And y’all remember dementors from Harry Potter right?
Everyone is trying to sleep now, so the only light I’ve got are the ones from the towns we’re moving past but that’s really only good for aesthetic purposes. Not that light source matters, because I’m writing this on my phone and not on paper, but I’m having a good time pretending I’m in the 19th century writing letters to my lover as I’m forced out of the country because our stations are unequal and we can never truly be together.
While the light would hinder the dramatic flair I would be going for if I was indeed alive in the 1800s, I think the motion of the train would completely derail that venture. It’s not smooth by any stretch of the imagination, but there’s something nice about the bounce and roll of the car, like it’s trying to rock you to sleep. Or maybe I just feel like that because I’m dead tired and anyone else who has gotten any amount of rest in the near past is going to think I’m crazy. And getting to lay down on a train is another thing entirely. You can feel the tracks under you as you hear the train going over them, like you’re part of the machine.
It’s definitely another one of those moments where it doesn’t feel real. I think that happens when something aligns so strongly with an aesthetic or fits so neatly into a cinematic setting that my brain doesn’t register it as reality. But it definitely is. I hit my head on the top bunk and I will for sure have to get up to pee very soon.
We’re mostly going through the countryside right now, so there’s not much to look at outside, which is probably a good thing. I really need to rest. But it’s also sad, because I like being dramatic and staring out the window on public transportation.
I did get my chance for a nice filmic stare out the window as we were chugging our way out of Hanoi. I think there’s some kind of celebration going on today, so there were streets strung up with every kind of light, filled with venders that were selling stars wrapped in tinsel. Hanoi is a super compact city, so when the train isn’t going over streets, it’s passing a mere arm length away from open windows and balconies. I got flash glimpses of people’s whole worlds inside their homes. I had to stop looking after a while because it felt invasive to be seeing someone’s living room arnd not know who they are.
As we got closer to the edge of the city, we went over a bridge that looked out over water and another bridge in the distance. There were people on motorbikes riding next to us. And aparrently, you can see into the train from the street because these guys keeping pace with us waved. And we got to have a whole conversation with every kind of cool hand sign we knew before they had to speed off into the night. We also rolled through another station. We didn’t stop there, as there was no one on the platform except for a lone station attendant who was holding up one of those old timey lanterns.
I’m sad. I’m so tired but I really feel like this is something you only do a few times in life and I’m wasting it by wanting to sleep. I’m definitely not doing the experience justice right now. And I’m mad that I don’t have a train aesthetic playlist. I have so many and I feel like that’s the most basic kind of playlist everyone should have. And yet.
Anyways, I don’t think I wring another paragraph out myself right now. I was told to make these longer, but god at what cost. I guess I could talk about Vietnam and how it compares to Taiwan and Bangkok but I don’t think I can think of anything worthwhile to say. This is too cool of a moment to waste on any kind of deep thinking and description of something I’m not experiencing right in this moment.
I’m the only one awake right now too (I think) and it’s really time to capitalize on the Aesthetic Possibilites of this situation. So, I’m going to do that and hopefully get to stare dramatically out the window again at another city.
And I mean we also have a train ride back, so I’ll have another opportunity for this. Maybe I’ll even have time to make a playlist for it.
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Well lads, it’s 5:26 am and oh boy did I romanticize sleeping on a train. I thought that maybe I would be tired enough to just pass out. Which did happen. But I also kept having anxiety dreams about missing our stop, so I’ve been up for about an hour and a half now.
The sky is finally light enough though, so I can look out the window again. We just passed a land lighthouse, which was something I wasn’t aware that existed.
I guess I never said where we are heading on this Super Cool Night Train. We came to Vietnam for the sole purpose of trekking in Sa Pa, which is in the mountains, hence the train. We’ll be out in the land for about 3 days. Other than walking, I’m not really sure what this trek entails but that’s kind of been the vibe of this whole traverse, so atleast we’re staying on theme.
The train attendant just knocked on our door as a morning wake up call, so I guess I should wake the others up so we can depart the train in a semi-composed manner. I’m not sure if there will be internet where we’re going, so Godspeed until next time lads, whenever that happens to be.
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Update: the place we booked our trek through is bougie af, so we’re sitting in a lounge with a Mountain View and WiFi, sippin on coffee, enjoying the surprisingly crisp air that Sa Pa has, and listening to some nice polka that seems to have no definitive source. They even have a shower, which would be nice to indulge in after the van ride up here (sick kid + puke + spilled coffee = a story for another day when I’m feeling stronger) but I’ve got the vision swoops and I need all the sit down time I can get before we do three days of walking. We might die. I definitely feel like I might die right now and I’m just sitting down. But it be like that.
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