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Deciding to spend more on a sleeper train was well worth it.
Finding our cabin for four we dumped our stuff and checked out the rest of the train. The further we headed down the train the worse the conditions got. We coughed up for a "soft sleeper" (not exactly soft though), the next carrriage was hard sleeper, then seated etc... then when we got to the end people were pretty much sitting on the floor - not ideal for a 14 hour train journey.
After a few hours we settled down to get some sleep and all managed to get quite a few hours in - albeit broken from the train breaking hard and the driver shouting over the tanoy - but it was comfortable and the hours flew by.
Arriving in Hue we didnt really like the feel of it. After taking a walk around we realised there wasn't much too this town so booked ourselves on the bus to Hoi An for that afternoon. This gave us just enough time to visit the Citadel - the towns only real selling point. Although having visited it we were disappointed as there is not much of it remaining and were glad we didnt decide to stay longer.
The bus to Hoi An was good, it was a sleeper bus so we all got a bed-type-thing, consisting of little pods with a fully reclining chair. It was cheap and relatively comfortable.
Hoi An was beautiful. Very quaint with a distinct french feel. We found a nice cheap hostel near the centre with a pool and headed out for dinner. After some much needed sleep having spent the last 24 hours travelling, the next day we had planned to rent a moped and ride to the golden palm-fringed beach, Cua Dai but we awoke to a torrential down pour. Adamant not to let it get to us we grabbed some breakfast and jumped on some pedal bikes (not confident of riding a motorbike in the rain) and made the 4km journey. En route the rain suddenly stopped and the blistering sunshine came out. Within minutes we and the roads were dry and we were at the beach swimming and sunbathing. It was gorgeous.
All beached out we headed back only to be hit again by more rain. We sat it out in a small cafe that had internet and waited for the worst of it to pass. Having had our first taste of beach life and our first swim (well my first - steph didnt fancy the big waves) in the sea, that evening we booked ourselves onto yet another sleeper bus this time heading for the beach town of Nha Trang.
Speedos? check. Suncream? check. Snorkel and mask? check. Roll on Nha Trang.
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