A good article- traveled by rail from London to Viet Nam? Are you related to Paul Theroux by any chance?
Yes, that train was built for tourists not the Vietnamese, I watched it on National Geographic Explorer or someplace. Specifically to bring in Tourism and hard currency. Vietnam is no more free than China is and still has the same human rights record that North Vietnam had during the Vietnam war. Nothing much has changed there outside of how the Economy runs. The only real change is they opened their Economy a little bit more to the West though there are still items they will not accept similar to China. Anything that casts China in a bad light is prohibited for example.
Also, the reason the train is not called the "Reunification Express" by Vietnam is they do not consider the invasion of the South as a reunification they view it as a subjugation of half the country that went errant from the North and they still view the South with paranoid suspicion today. This is why the whole country retains the capital as Hanoi and they still listen closely to what China instructs or protests. If China does not like protests taking place in Siagon then the Vietnamese crack down on them.
MemmaI've just finished and published an article about our trip on Vietnam's Reunification Express from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City.
Another nice article, Memma. Sometime I hope you can write a couple of paragraphs on how you traveled from London to Vietnam by train. When, how, what trains, etc.
I enjoy your articles.
York1 John
Memma: It's a good, interesting article. Too bad there was that unnecessary political post by a member.
Great series on food and trains in Vietnam
https://watch.tastemade.com/luke-nguyen-s-railway-vietnam-1
"Celebrated chef Luke Nguyen takes us on a culinary journey in Vietnam, following the tracks of the Reunification Express, a line that runs the length of the country. Luke travels from Ho Chi Minh in the south to Sa Pa."
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