American tourists like to sleep overnight on the Hanoi

Alexandra Karplus, an American, spent two nights sleeping on the train and commented that it was the "best sleep" of her 7-day Vietnam tour.

Alezanda Karplus was born in New York, USA, and has lived in Singapore for 14 years. She has traveled extensively but has only been on a train twice, in India and the US. Karplus’s two children, ages 5 and 8, have never been on an overnight train.

When Karplus' husband came up with the idea of traveling to Vietnam and taking the Hanoi-Sapa night train, the tourist immediately agreed. "I was excited to try something different," she said. The whole family immediately booked flights from Singapore to Hanoi for $131 per person and arrived in Vietnam in the last week of October, when their two children were on school break.

Alezanda Karplus takes a souvenir photo while sleeping overnight on the train. Photo: Insider — Alezanda Karplus takes a souvenir photo while sleeping overnight on the train. Photo: *Insider*

The first night, the family of four slept in Hanoi and boarded the train to Sa Pa at 10 p.m. the next day. Karplus said boarding the train in Vietnam was "very simple." They just had to show their tickets to the staff standing in front of each car for checking and were guided to their seats, which were cabins with two bunk beds. The female tourist bought four beds for $155.

Karplus was pleased to find the cabin clean, with white sheets and a cotton duvet. On the table were four bananas, cookies, tea bags, wet wipes, toothbrushes and bottled water. The kids liked to sleep on the top bunk, so she and her husband opted for the lower bunk.

The bed was shorter than Karplus's husband was tall. The male passenger had to prop his feet up on a luggage bag. Still, the train was "more comfortable than any airplane seat." The train's facilities were better than the female passenger expected. The toilet was more spacious than on a plane, with toilet paper, soap, and a clean sink.

Karplus watched Hanoi fade away through the window. The train passed by houses and she saw a woman watching TV. In another house she saw a couple sitting on the balcony sipping tea.

The rocking motion of the train quickly put the family of four to sleep. Karplus slept soundly all night and woke up to the alarm at 5:30. The train began to have staff pushing carts to sell coffee and food to passengers. Around 6:00, the train arrived at Lao Cai station. From there, they boarded a shuttle bus with 12 other people to Sa Pa.

There are two ways to travel from Hanoi to Sa Pa: by train and by car. Karplus chose the train, although it took four hours longer, but she considered it safer. "There have been many car accidents over the years," she said. The Karplus family spent four nights in a hotel and homestay in Sa Pa. She said they had an unforgettable experience, but "still found sleeping on the train more comfortable." Karplus also added that the two nights on the train were the two nights she slept best during her trip to Vietnam.

On this trip, the train street in Hanoi and the scenery in Sa Pa town were both deducted points from Karplus. She was disappointed that when she arrived in Sa Pa, there were only giant billboards, concrete buildings and many vendors trying to entice her to buy souvenirs. The famous Cat Cat village was also not highly rated by her because it "looked more like an amusement park".

She also doesn't rate the railway street highly, saying it's not a safe place to explore with young children. "Drinks are served in shabby shops half a meter from the tracks," she said.

As the train was about to pass, the train street became more lively, Karplus observed. An elderly woman ran from one of the nearby shops onto the tracks, yelling for people to keep their distance. She even picked up a nearby tourist’s sunglasses that had dropped just seconds before the train passed.

Seeing this scene, the American female tourist "understands why the Vietnamese government is trying to prevent tourists from visiting". If she had known the risks of the trip, Karplus would not have come. However, her two children really enjoyed the chaotic scene here.

Anh Minh (According to Insider )

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