The Night Bus to Hue

I've taken night trains before - some good and some bad - but I've never before taken a night bus. We left Hanoi on a rainy, grey evening on an overnight sleeper bus to central Vietnam. Vietnam is a long, skinny country, and it takes a long time to get from one city to another. Our trip would take us around 13 hours.

I've heard Vietnam has a good train system, and I definitely would have preferred traveling by rail. But the bus tickets were cheap, only about $5 per ticket, and at least we would get there, even if not in the most comfortable way.

The night bus was actually a lot like a second-class sleeper train - three narrow rows of double-deck beds, complete with pillow and blanket. The beds could be raised into a seat, or reclined into a bed for sleeping.

I actually got a few hours of sleep, and honestly the trip wasn't all that bad. The drivers drove slowly and safely, and switched off in the night. We arrived in Hue right on time, too. I don't mind traveling this way, I suppose. We are really trying to save money and make every dollar count while we are abroad. Next month we'll have to decide how to get down to Saigon after leaving the central area. To be honest, I wouldn't really mind going by night bus again!