Trains, maps and toilets: Hanoi-Lao cai-Kunming
Wednesday, May 23rd, 2007I’ve built up quite a reputation for being able to sleep everywhere and through anything. I fell asleep during my first tatoo, I slept through the cinema screening of The Excorcist, and even nodded off at the back of a 2-stroke Russian motorbike while doing off-road biking in N.Vietnam.
But I’ve met my nemesis: The Hanoi to Lao Cai night train. My cabin was tucked away at the end of the train, far from the section reserved for western tourists or affluent Vietnamese. When I stumbled into the cabin, 3 other vietnamese men had already settled in, one of whom was sprawled out on my (reserved) bunkbed,smoking. He sheepishly offered me one his Vinataba cigarettes before clambering onto his own bed. Lights were off quite soon after departing, and that’s when the sonic onslaught hit full force. [read on]
vynckemichelle