How to get the public bus from Da Nang to Hoi An.

Da Nang and Hoi An are about 27 km apart, and there is a direct public bus that connects Da Nang city centre to Hoi An Ancient Town.

Bus Number: 02
Frequency: Every 15-30 minutes
Ticket: 40,000 VND
Travel time: 1 hour
Operator: FUTA
Website: danangbus.vn

Bus 02 route map

[Map of Bus 02 between Da Nang and Hoi An.]

I have marked some random bus stops along the way to give an overview of the route.

Bus from Da Nang to Hoi An

The bus travels along Tran Phu Street in Da Nang. The most useful bus stop is in front of the Da Nang Cathedral (the Pink Church). The bus stops are not well kept or updated with timetables, so I use the Pink Church as the most reliable landmark to get the bus from.

[Bus 02 arriving at bus stop in front of Pink Church.]

Tickets are sold by the driver. I paid cash, and I saw another passenger pay by QR code (no credit card tapping).

The bus goes via the inland route, so you can’t use this bus to get the the Da Nang beach area or travel along the coastal route.

[Route Map of Line 2 displayed inside bus.]

At about the halfway mark the bus stops at the Tran Dai Nghia Tran Hung Dao Bus Station. This station is next to the Vietnam – Korea University of Information and Communication Technology (represented on some bus maps as DH Viet Han).

Buses are not allowed into the Hoi An old city area, so the bus stops at the Hai Ba Trung Parking Lot. It is a short walk down Hai Ba Trung Road to the old city.

[Local buses at the Hai Ba Trung Parking Lot in Hoi An.]

Bus from Hoi An to Da Nang

The bus from Hoi An to Da Nang departs from Hai Ba Trung Parking Lot.

The bus follows the same road on the way back, including a stop at the DH Viet Han bus station. Bus 6 also stops here, which goes to Da Nang International Airport.

[Bus 6 to DAD Airport at DH Viet Han bus station.]

The bus stops Le Van Hien Street, just before turning onto Tien Son Bridge to go into the city area. This is the closest the bus gets to the beach area. The bus driver let me know this was the beach stop.

The bus follows the same route in the city area, but it goes along Bach Dang along the riverfront instead of Tran Phu. This will bring you back the the middle of the city at the Han Market.

[Bus 02 on Bach Dang Road, Da Nang.]

Archive of previous bus routes

Bus 1

There used to be a public bus between Da Nang and Hoi An (Bus 1) but that was cancelled during the pandemic.

Some old guides show that the bus stops at Nguyen Tat Thanh Hoi An Bus Station, but that station is closed. The current drop-off point is the most convenient place to walk to the old town.

[The old Bus Number 1 at Nguyen Tat Thanh Hoi An Bus Station.]

Bus 02/Bus LK-02

After a few years with no service, Bus 02/LK-02 between Da Nang to Hoi An was launched.

Bus 02/LK-02 (operated by FUTA Bus) ran from BX Trung Tam (the bus station in Da Nang) to Cua Dai Hoi An (a beach area in Hoi An). The front of the bus included “Hoi An Ancient Town” on the destination board.

The bus operated two numbers (Route 2 and Route LK-02). The signs at the bus stops showed Route 2 to DH Viet Han (Vietnam – Korea University), so someone who was unfamiliar with the bus system wouldn’t have known that this goes to Hoi An.

[Bus routes on Tran Phu Street, Da Nang.]

A confusing aspect of this trip was that two tickets were issued (for Route 2 and Route LK-02), even though the route is operated by the same private company. This was due to the bus operating in Danang City and Quang Nam Province, so it was a city bus but operating as an inter-provincial bus. The buses are subsidised by the city, so there was the complication of travelling into a different province.

[Da Nang to Hoi An tickets (total 31,000 VND).]

The Vietnam – Korea University was on the border of Da Nang City and Quang Nam Province, so the bus station served as an interchange for buses.

[Bus at Tran Dai Nghia Tran Hung Dao Bus Station.]

The provinces of Vietnam were merged on the 1st of July 2025, and Quang Nam Province was merged into Da Nang. This Google screenshot shows the old boundary near the bus stop.

[Tran Dai Nghia Tran Hung Dao Bus Station near the Da Nang-Quang Nam border.]

There was a route map inside the bus that showed the two lines:

[Route 2] BX Trung Tam – Dai Hoc Viet Han
[Route LK-02] Dai Hoc Viet Han – Cua Dai Hoi An

The other confusing part of this route was that there wasn’t a proper bus stop for Hoi An. The bus stopped at 187 Ly Thuong Kiet, in front of Emm Hotel Hoi An. This is near the intersection of Hai Ba Trung, which is one of the main roads leading into the old town area.

The bus driver clearly indicated that this was the stop for Hoi An. I asked the driver where to get the return bus, and he pointed to across the road.

[Bus stop at 187 Ly Thuong Kiet, in front of Emm Hotel Hoi An.]

The bus travelled along Bach Dang Road in Da Nang, which is the same route that Bus 02 now uses.

[Bus LK02 on Bach Dang Road, Da Nang.]

Hon Son is an island about 65km west of Rach Gia in An Giang Province in Vietnam. The island has an area of 11.5 square km, and there are no private cars on the island.

Hon Son is one of several islands of the Nam Du archipelago in the Gulf of Thailand. The islands are in the same province as Phu Quoc and the An Thoi Archipelago, but there are no ferries between the two island groups. This relative isolation has helped keep a lid on Hon Son tourism numbers.

[View map of Hon Son.]

I got a ferry from Phu Quoc to Rach Gia on the mainland, and then a ferry from Rach Gia to Hon Son. After experiencing the tourism circus that Phu Quoc has become, Hon Son was an ideal palate-cleanser. These are my notes from my visit in January 2026.

[View of Hon Son from the passenger ferry.]

Ferry to Hon Son

Ferries to Hon Son leave at the crack of dawn, so I had to overnight in Rach Gia (I will post a separate review of Rach Gia).

[Passengers for Hon Son at Rach Gia.]

I booked my ferry tickets in advance as I didn’t know what the demand would be like. The ferry is also listed as Lai Son, which is the main port. Some places also refer to the island as Lai Son.

Before Hon Son, I took the ferry from Ha Tien to Phu Quoc. The ferry was about 1/4 full, even though Phu Quoc tourism is booming. Most tourists to Phu Quoc are arriving by air.

On the ferry from Rach Gia to Hon Son, there wasn’t a spare seat on the boat. I timed my trip to visit at the best time of year (the milder half of the dry season and before the Tet holiday). There was a group on the boat on a company trip (they were wearing the same shirts), and the rest were domestic tourists. The only other foreigners I saw were at the pier when I arrived and when I departed, and at one of the beach hotels.

There are motorbikes for rent at the pier, but I was surprised that there wasn’t a gaggle of motorbike taxi riders offering their services. There is no Grab taxi service here either, so the motorbike rentals were snapped up by arriving passengers.

Lai Son

Lai Son is where the ferry pier is and where most of the shops and government offices are.

There are cafes along the seafront, and lots of seafood restaurants.

[Bun Quay is a seafood noodle soup from Phu Quoc.]

Fishing is the main industry here, and there are some fish sauce factories hiding among the houses in Lai Son.

[Fish sauce factory.]

This pillbox is near the police station, though there is no indication of how old it is.

There isn’t a historic old town like on Con Dao, but there are some cute old houses on the first street behind the seafront road.

Ap Thien Tue

Ap Thien Tue is a fishing village to the west of Lai Son.

The main street is a covered laneway lined with shops, and there are a few guesthouses here.

This is a working fishing village, and you can see some boats being repaired on the beach.

Vietnamese fishing villages tend to be messy, but if you walk around, you can find a scenic view of the bay.

There is a great view from the tomb of Ong Nam Hai.

Tour boats for water activities depart from here.

Some houses have been upgraded to provide homestay experiences.

[Trinh Huynh Homestay.]

Island circuit

Hon Son is a small island, but you still need a bike to get around.

There is hardly any traffic here, and the road that goes around the island is paved.

The road that rings the island is about 17 km, and it would take about 40 minutes to complete the island circuit without stops. I had some places marked on the map where I wanted to visit, and then I stopped anywhere that looked interesting.

One of the main beaches is Bai Bang, and the number of bikes parked here suggested it was the most popular spot on the entire island circuit.

There are some hotels on the beach, and it is a scenic place to hang out.

Khu Du Lich Bai Bang and Sohora Beach and Bungalow have bungalows on the beach.

[Khu Du Lich Bai Bang.]

I used Google Maps to find interesting spots, and I noticed that the map showed a cafe as a tourism attraction (shown here with a camera icon).

It is one thing to get your business listed on Google Maps, but getting it designated as a tourist attraction must juice the visitor numbers. Alu Koru Cafe has a TikTok-friendly gateway, and videos for #alukoruhonson show the view from the cafe.

It’s a nice cafe to have a break, though it was a bit cloudy when I visited, so I didn’t get the eye-popping blues as depicted in the TikTok clips.

Another check-in spot is Ong Rua Hon Son, which is a rock by the side of the road that resembles a turtle. There were people parked here getting photos, so I waited until they moved on.

Most of the way around the island is undeveloped, and it is a real joy to drive among the coconut trees.

The road also makes for a good place to dry fish.

There is also a north-south road that goes through the rugged interior of the island.

Development and infrastructure

Hon Son is a small island, so it’s unlikely to follow the overdevelopment fate of Phu Quoc (though there have been less logical places that have had inappropriate developments in Vietnam). The beaches aren’t as dazzling as other islands in the Gulf of Thailand, so that has probably kept developers from trying.

There was a noticeable amount of construction around the island, including some new hotels and houses overlooking the sea. I’m curious to know if these houses are being built by locals or by wealthy Mekong Deltaites.

[The Hill Paradise construction.]

Usually, small islands rely on diesel generators for power, but I noticed there were power poles from EVN (the state-owned national power company).

Hon Son was connected to the national power grid in 2017 via a 24.5 km oversea power line. The power line can be seen on the east side of the island.

There is one petrol station on the island, and it’s near a pier that has a pipeline to import fuel.

These rubbish trucks were among the few 4-wheeled vehicles I saw on the island.

Unfortunately, the main rubbish dump is on the side of the road next to a sea cliff. There was a smouldering pile of rubbish when I went by, with rubbish falling into the sea.

This made me wonder if small islands and remote villages could set up a mini waste-to-energy plant. Some companies build plants the size of shipping containers, so that would be good to see in the future.

Where to stay on Hon Son

Accommodation is limited, so book as far in advance as you can manage. I also noticed that many places aren’t listed on booking sites, so that limits your options for search comparisons.

There weren’t many budget options available during the peak travel period when I visited, so I ended up at Huy Hoang Homestay near the Ap Thien Tue fishing village. This was a 30-minute walk from the pier, and the homestay arranged a scooter rental for my bike day.

Lai Son is where most of the guesthouses are, and there are more shops and food options. There is no beach though, so you have to ride to the beach.

The most popular beaches are the aforementioned Bai Bang and Bai Xep.

In Bai Xep, Rai Ca Homestay is contactable via their Facebook page.

The main “luxury” accommodation here is Fly Up Resort.

[Fly Up Resort.]

Booking sites list Lai Son as the main booking location. Search for accommodation on Hon Son on Agoda or Booking.

If you are not planning to rent a motorbike, enquire with your accommodation about transport from the ferry pier.

Booking ferry tickets

Ferries from Rach Gia are operated by Superdong and Hoa Binh Shipping, though HBS wasn’t showing tickets when I checked. I went with Superdong, and I checked for all available tickets via Baolau.

[Advertising for Hoa Binh Shipping at Rach Gia.]

The ferry stops at Hon Tre on the way to and from Hon Son.

[View of Hon Tre from the ferry.]

The HBS ferry also goes to the island of Nam Du from Hon Son, while Superdong goes to Nam Du directly from Rach Gia. Those are other island options if you want to island-hop the Nam Du archipelago.

[Ferry from Hon Son to Hon Tre.]

Lopburi is the capital city of Lopburi Province in Central Thailand. Lopburi is littered with historic ruins, and the city made global headlines when it was overrun by monkeys.

The city is on the Northern Line that connects Bangkok and Chiang Mai. A new train station was built outside the city in 2025, so I figured it was time for a revisit.

These are my notes from my visit in December 2025.

A tale of two train stations

[Lopburi Railway Station]

Lopburi railway station is in the middle of the city, so it’s an easy destination to visit by train. The trains run at street level, so the State Railway of Thailand decided to build another station on a new bypass line.

The new station is about 8 km from the city centre, and I timed my trip to visit just after the station opened in December 2025. The bypass is a 19 km elevated railway that looks like something that would be built for a high-speed railway. This is still a metre-gauge railway with diesel-engine trains.

[Lopburi 2 Railway Station]

The absurd thing about this bypass is that some trains still run through Lopburi. The express trains between Bangkok and Chiang Mai now run via the bypass, while local trains still go to the old station.

I was surprised that so much was spent on this bypass, but still have trains running through Lopburi. I was also disappointed to discover that this is not built to serve a future high-speed railway (if it ever got built). I wrote about this topic in Thailand’s mediocre master plan for rail development.

The new station is inconvenient, but at least the SRT operate a free shuttle service between Lopburi 2 Station and Lopburi Station.

[Free shuttle from Lopburi Station to Lopburi 2 Station.]

City of ruins

One of the appealing aspects of Lopburi is that the train deposits you in the middle of the action. As soon as you step out of the station, you can see the ruins of Wat Phrasi Rattana Mahathat.

[Wat Phrasi Rattana Mahathat, opposite the train station.]

There is no way that a modern railway would be allowed to be built next to such a historic site, so I wouldn’t be surprised if all trains eventually stop running through the city.

[Rail crossing next to Phra Prang Sam Yot]

Lopburi was the capital of the Ayutthaya Kingdom in the mid-17th century, and there are also ruins from when Lopburi was part of the Angkor Empire.

In addition to the ruins in parks with admission fees, there are ruins that are open at all hours.

[Wat Nakorn Kosa]

Some ruins are so ruined that they have almost blended into the streetscape.

[Wat Ratcha.]

More abundant than the ruins are the monkey murals that can be found around the city.

[Monkey mural at Wat Indra]

Monkey Town

Lopburi became famous for its long-tailed macaques that freely roamed the streets. My defining memory of my last visit in 2008 was of being cautious of these monkeys, and it apparently got worse after that.

An annual Monkey Buffet Festival is held at the end of November, but by 2024, the monkey population had got so out of control that they started removing them from the city. This Reuters photo essay gives you an idea of the monkey mania that gripped Lopburi.

I arrived in Lopburi a year after this special operation, and I saw more monkey murals than monkeys.

If you had never been to Lopburi and didn’t know about the monkey situation, you might wonder why there were so many “Beware of the Monkeys” signs everywhere.

Monkeys have become the unofficial mascot of the city.

[Monkey street plate at Phra Prang Sam Yot]

I finally got a glimpse of a monkey at Phra Prang Sam Yot, but Lopburi in 2025 was nothing like pre-2024 Lopburi, when tribes of monkeys roamed the streets seeking treats as tribute from tourists.

[My first monkey sighting at Phra Prang Sam Yot.]

This monkey-themed cafe set in a dilapidated shophouse would have felt like a 12 Monkeys dystopia when monkeys were freely roaming the streets.

Seeing all these cute monkey murals everywhere almost made me miss them, but they became a big problem in the end.

Since my visit, it was reported that nearly 100 monkeys escaped from a municipal animal enclosure in Lopburi, so maybe the monkeys will retake their city in the future.

Where have all the overlanders gone?

Getting the train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai is a great way to experience the historic cities of Central Thailand. From Bangkok, you can visit Ayutthaya, Lopburi, and Phitsanulok (for Sukhothai) with relative ease.

Trains between Bangkok and Ayutthaya stop at Don Mueang Airport, which was the main airport of Bangkok before Suvarnabhumi Airport opened in 2006.

There was a time when backpackers would arrive at Don Mueang and get the train straight to Ayutthaya (if they weren’t going to the old backpacker neighbourhood of Bangkok).

My last visit to Lopburi was in 2008, and I met overland travellers on that trip. On this 2025 trip, I was there for two nights, and I hardly saw any foreign tourists.

I was thinking about this when I saw Noom Guesthouse. This is a typical guesthouse that used to fill the pages of Lonely Planet.

The guesthouse has dorms and private rooms, and they have information on things to do in the area.

I think this street was the main guesthouse street back in the day. Unfortunately, I didn’t blog about my trip, so I don’t remember much. What I do remember is that on that trip, I used Lonely Planet to find places to stay, and I didn’t prebook any guesthouses.

On this 2025 trip, I ended up staying near Noom at Nett Hotel Lopburi.

I don’t remember where I stayed in 2008, but I realised that I probably stayed here because I remember seeing this Please Don’t Feed The Monkey sign.

The hotel doesn’t look like it has changed in the 17 years since my last visit, and it probably hasn’t in 17 years since my first visit. This added to my feeling of nostalgia for a bygone travel era.

So there are not many guesthouses left in the old town (if there were that many to begin with), which had me wondering what happened to the art of overland travel.

I know that tastes change, and low-cost airlines have reconfigured the banana pancake trail in Southeast Asia. Some overland routes are too much of a grind for the modern traveller, such as the Bukit Lawang-Medan-Lake Toba-Bukittinggi circuit in Sumatra. I credit that overland trip for getting me interested in railway development in Southeast Asia, when I Googled “is there a plan for a train in Sumatra” after a gruelling overnight bus trip. It’s hard to sell an 18-hour bus trip when most people just want to fly to Bali and sit by a pool.

The Northern Line to Chiang Mai, though, is anything but gruelling. Sure, it’s slow by modern standards, and Thailand should really be building a high-speed railway between Bangkok and Chiang Mai. For the casual visitor, the Northern Line is an ideal travel adventure. It’s Overlanding 101 For Babies.

You can get the train at sensible hours in the daytime, and break up the trip into short sections (Train 7 from Bangkok to Chiang Mai runs in daytime hours). You can then add some variety to your travel experience by getting the sleeper train from Chiang Mai on the return journey.

Lopburi makes for a good stop for a day to check out some ruins and to experience a provincial night market.

[Walking Street Lopburi]

Train to Bangkok

After getting the train to the new station, I wanted to depart from the old station for old-time’s sake. I got the commuter train to Bangkok, where you just buy a ticket on the day of travel, and the seats are hard benches. The bonus of the commuter train is that it still goes to Hua Lamphong Station (and not Krung Thep Aphiwat Central Terminal).

[Train 304 at Lopburi.]

Here is my review of the Lop Buri to Bangkok commuter train.

Lamphun is the capital of Lamphun province in northern Thailand. Lamphun province is next to Chiang Mai province, and their eponymously-titled capitals are only 19 km apart.

Despite Lamphun’s proximity to Chiang Mai, I had somehow spent years of my life in Chiang Mai but had never visited Lamphun. It was time for me to visit Chiang Mai’s charming little neighbour.

These are the notes of my trip to Lamphun in December 2025.

Lamphun by train

Not only is Lamphun ridiculously close to Chiang Mai, but there is a local train that leaves Chiang Mai at a sensible hour of the morning. Train number 408 departs Chiang Mai at 9.35 AM and arrives at Lamphun at 10.01.

There are more frequent services by bus and songthaew, but the train is the most pleasant experience.

I noticed a big tour group was dropped off at Chiang Mai, and then they were picked up at Lamphun. They could have just come here by the same bus, but the short train trip added some variety to their tour.

It turns out that this Chiang Mai – Lamphun train service has gone viral, which explains why the journey was like being on a photo shoot.

Lamphun Station is a typical small railway station with an old wooden building and immaculate gardens.

The station has a useful tourist map on display that other small provincial capitals could learn from. The map shows the main highlights of the old town, with QR codes to download the map of Lamphun. The map is also honest in saying that you could do the town in 4 hours.

I could have visited Lamphun as a day trip from Chiang Mai, but I wanted to stay to get a better feel for the place. I also have a personal quest to visit every province, which is validated by spending at least one night in the provincial capital.

Lamphun moat

Like Chiang Mai, Lamphun has an old city area surrounded by a moat. Lamphun Station is about 30 minutes walk to the closest gate of the old town moat.

The Lamphun moat is different to Chiang Mai in that it uses the river as one side of the fortified area.

And while the Chiang Mai moated area is almost a square (1550m x 1500m), the Lamphun moated area is a more organic rectangular/oval shape (rectangoval?)

There are only a few sections of wall that remain, which have been rebuilt.

Trees with lights are a good alternative to walls.

Inthayongyot Road

Inthayongyot Road is the main north-south road that passes through the old town, which then becomes the Chiang Mai-Lamphun Road.

The road includes Wat Phra That Hariphunchai, which is one of the most sacred temples in the north. It also happens to be on the rare 1-satang coin (value of 0.01 THB).

The Hariphunchai National Museum has the history of the Haripuñjaya Kingdom before it became part of Lanna.

The blue songthaews that go to Chiang Mai depart from the Hariphunchai National Museum, so you could get a train to Lamphun and a songthaew back to Chiang Mai.

The main street is lined with concrete shophouses that define most of urban Thailand.

Some of them just need a good paint job to accentuate the architectural highlights, such as the shophouse at Jim’s Ice Cream.

At the southern end of the road is the Three Soldiers Gas Station Museum, which is an old-fashioned petrol station kiosk.

Markets

A bonus of staying in Lamphun is experiencing the Friday night market (it was dumb luck that I stayed on the right day).

Thailand is great at night markets, and Lamphun sensibly has its night market on Friday so as not to clash with the big Saturday and Sunday night markets in Chiang Mai.

If you aren’t there for the Friday market, the Lamphun Night Market is open every night and is a good spot for street food.

War Elephant Memorial Shrine

Outside of the old town is the War Elephant Memorial Shrine.

This was a good target to walk towards, as it took me through some roads with big trees.

Near the War Elephant Memorial Shrine is a park with some vintage train engines and carriages.

Cafes, nomads, living in provincial cities

Lamphun is a small city (about 10,000 to 15,000 people according to different sources), so it is not overrun with chain stores. The only chain I saw was Amazon, which is practically everywhere in Thailand now.

There are some good cafes on the main street, and my favourite was Black to Basic near the river.

You know a latte is going to be good when it looks like this.

Lamphun is not a nomad destination (especially when Chiang Mai is so close), so I didn’t see anyone working in cafes.

I had a friend who was living in Lamphun for a while, who came here to learn Thai. He was a retired foreigner who has since passed away. He stayed in Lamphun as he was able to be fully immersed in language learning without running into a foreigner. My friend would come to Chiang Mai for shopping expeditions, and I would meet him for coffee. I thought he was exaggerating, especially as Lamphun is so close to Chiang Mai, but I hardly saw any foreigners here.

Future Lamphun Airport

I was constantly reminded of how close Lamphun is to Chiang Mai by the planes in the CNX flight path.

Chiang Mai International Airport is close to the city centre, and the Nimman area of Chiang Mai is right under its flight path. There is a plan to build a new airport outside the city centre, though no agreement has been made on whether it is a second airport or if the old airport should close down.

The location for Chiang Mai 2 Airport (or Lanna International Airport) is on land that straddles the Chiang Mai/Lamphun border.

[2nd Chiang Mai Airport in Chiang Mai and Lamphun.]

Accommodation

I was getting another train after my Lamphun visit, so I stayed halfway between the station and the old town at the Thaen Thong Hotel.

Northern Line

Lamphun is on the Northern Line that runs between Bangkok and Chiang Mai. This line passes through some of the most historic sites in Thailand, so it is a useful sightseeing line.

From Lamphun, I got the train to Lopburi.

The Philippine National Railways (PNR) South Main Line originally traversed South Luzon from Manila to Legazpi. The line was approximately 500 km in length, but the system has been reduced to two fragmented sections.

The current lines are used as commuter services and are not useful for tourism. If you are a train enthusiast who wants to take the train in the Philippines, then here is how to ride the remnants of the PNR South Main Line.

PNR South Main Line map

This is the official PNR route map.

This map is outdated, so I have made a map of the current PNR rail lines.

[View map of current PNR rail lines.]

Train routes and schedules

Two routes were operating when I visited in April 2026:

– Calamba-Lucena

– Lupi Viejo-Naga

The Naga-Legazpi line was still being repaired after being damaged during a typhoon in 2025.

I have a Philippines train travel guide which includes updates on when the Naga-Legazpi section will reopen.

PNR announces train schedules every day on Facebook and X. The trains are usually around the same time, but there was one service that was cancelled a few days before my travel date. Follow the updates to confirm the trains are running.

I watched the train leave near the station, and the level crossing is just a guard with a flag.

Manila

The PNR South Main Line used to start at Tutuban Station in Manila. The line from Manila to Calamba has been discontinued to allow for the construction of the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR).

[Map of NSCR by the Philippines’ Department of Transportation (DOTr).]

The NSCR will revolutionise travel in the Metro Manila area, so this construction inconvenience will be worth it when it opens.

Official transit and rail maps in the Philippines are not useful, but there is a cottage industry of rail enthusiasts who are making unofficial maps. One of the best maps of the Metro Manila area is by Bernardo Arellano III.

[View full map on Flickr.]

This map shows the Manila Mass Transit System and the old PNR railway on the same map.

Tutuban Station

To start my journey, I figured I should visit Tutuban Station, even though there are no longer any trains.

There was a security guard at the entrance, but they let me in when I said I wanted to have a look at the old steam engines in front of the station. I could walk around the engines, but I was not allowed inside the station building. Fair enough.

Calamba to Lucena

Calamba is in Laguna Province, which is the neighbouring province south of the Metro Manila area. There are no railways that connect Manila to Calamba, so I had to get a bus.

Buses from Manila depart from the Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange (PITX). Buses go through Calamba on the way to somewhere else, so just ask the information desk which bus to take to Calamba.

The bus takes about 90 minutes, and the bus dropped passengers off near the SM City Calamba Mall. This is not far from Calamba Station, but the train is now operating from another station in Calamba due to the NSCR construction.

I had time before the train departed, so I went to Calamba Station to have a look around.

The current Calamba Station is at PNR Halang Dos Flagstop. I went back to SM City Calamba and got a tricycle for 80 PHP.

As the name suggests, Halang Dos is a flagstop station, so there are no facilities such as toilets or cafes. The SM City mall is the best place for a food and toilet break before getting the train.

The line is a single track, and it runs at ground level through urban areas.

The arriving train reminded me of being in Hanoi Train Street, but there are no cafes with tourists here.

Tickets are sold at the station. The ticket to Lucena was 105 PHP ($1.70 USD).

This is an interprovincial train, but it uses metro-style carriages with seats on the side and straps for standing passengers.

This train used to run in Manila on the commuter line before it was closed. The old route map is still in the carriage, and I like how they have just stuck a piece of paper on top with the new route.

The trains are built by Inka from Indonesia (the first integrated state-owned railway manufacturing company in Southeast Asia).

The train was busy, with many passengers using it as intended as an after-work commuter service. I sat next to a group who were taking more photos than the average commuters. They were an extended family taking their first train ride in the Philippines.

I didn’t see anyone who looked like an international traveller. Not that this train goes anywhere of interest for the average tourist, but I usually see a random Japanese or Singaporean train enthusiast on these odd train trips.

I didn’t mind that PNR were recycling old carriages, but it was disappointing how dirty the windows were.

The windows were like opaque glass, and I could only get a view when sticking my phone camera against the window.

The total travel time is 2h 33m, arriving at Lucena at 20:18.

Something else to consider is that there is no toilet on board, so probably not a good idea to have an extra-large iced coffee before travel.

[Toilet at Lucena Station.]

I stayed in Lucena for a day to relax before getting the bus to Naga. I went back to the station to get some photos, and the original station is in ruins next to the current station.

Naga

The bus from Lucena to Naga takes about 7 and a half hours.

If you wanted to get the train for a short section of that trip, there is a train from Lupi Viejo to Naja. Lupi Viejo is about 60 km from Naga, and the train is used as a commuter service with commuter hours.

The bus doesn’t stop in Lupi Viejo, but it goes near it on the highway. You could ask the bus driver to drop you off, and then it is about a 1 km walk.

If you want to ride the Naga-Lupi Viejo train, the better alternative is to stay in Naga and do a return trip to Lupi Viejo. Depart Naga at 9:49 and return from Lupi Viejo at 11:43.

[Naga Station]

Like in Calamba, the train in Naga runs through the city at ground level.

Naga to Legazpi

The Naga to Legazpi section was suspended when I visited, so this was another bus journey. The bus takes about 3 hours, and it’s a scenic route on a good road. The land is littered with volcanoes, including the majestic Mayon Volcano.

[A view of Mayon Volcano (yes, that is smoke rising from the volcano.]

The road follows a similar path to the train line, and it must be a scenic view on the train (as long as the windows are clean).

The line reopened in 2023 after being closed for six years. After the typhoon damage in 2025, it was announced in December that the line would reopen in about three months. I was here about a month after this deadline, but it was still not open.

To complete the PNR South Main Line journey, which began at Tutuban Station in Manila, I visited Legazpi Station. The station is currently barricaded, but I saw some security staff inside.

They let me inside and allowed me to take photos of the maps and timetables, but I couldn’t wander around the station. I asked when the line might restart, and the response was ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.

Hopefully, when the service restarts, they have more services available than this early morning run.

The future of the South Main Line

The Philippines is planning to replace the South Main Line with the PNR South Long Haul. This would be a complete rebuild of the line and not a renovation. The line would also extend beyond Legazpi, opening up tourism potential for the Bicol Region.

[Map by Philippine Railways Institute, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.]

I am keeping track of the PNR South Long Haul at Future Southeast Asia (subscribe to the newsletter for updates).

[James at Halang Dos, Calamba.]

My review of the Nanning to Hong Kong high-speed railway service.

Nanning is the capital of Guangxi region in southern China. The region is next to the Vietnam border, and its proximity to Hanoi makes it a useful hub if you are overlanding to other points in China. There are direct services from Nanning to major cities in China, including Hong Kong.

Here is what to expect on the high-speed train from Nanning to Hong Kong.

Nanning – Hong Kong high-speed railway: trip details

There is one direct high-speed train per day between Nanning and Hong Kong:

Train number: G927
Depart Nanningdong (Nanning East): 11:18
Arrive Hong Kong West Kowloon: 15:15
Travel time: 3h 57m

My ticket price for travel in April 2026:

Ticket price: $67.33 USD
Booking fee: $7.00 USD
Total: $74.33 USD

I use Trip.com for train booking in China as it is a user-friendly site that accepts foreign credit cards. Trip will also show you alternative routes (mainly changing trains in Guangzhou).

Buy Nanning to Hong Kong High-Speed Train Tickets.

Nanningdong Railway Station

The main high-speed station is at Nanningdong (Nanning East) Railway Station. This is a different station from Nanning Railway Station in the middle of the city (where the train from Hanoi arrives).

If you are coming from Nanning Station, a metro line connects Nanning Station to Nanning East Station. The metro station is under the high-speed station, so you could arrive without having seen the outside of the building. I arrived at the station earlier as I figured that the station would be worth looking at from the outside. The station is enormous.

The station is surrounded by a plaza with no shops nearby. This is a different vibe to Nanning Station, which is surrounded by shops and busy streets.

Inside the station is like a giant airport terminal.

Despite the enormity of the station, there are not many restaurant choices here. The stations in China are built to process as many people as possible in the shortest amount of time, so lingering in shops and restaurants is not encouraged by design.

There is always hot water for tea and noodles at a Chinese train station.

Life in modern China revolves around apps on your mobile phone, so there is a charging station for your devices.

My plan for arriving early (apart from wandering outside) was to sit in a cafe and people-watch. The only cafe here was a Starbucks tucked away on the top level with no view. The cafe section had also been removed, which reduced the cafe to a takeaway stall.

I always check out the departure board for future travel inspiration.

There are trains from Nanning to Dali, though I would prefer to go via Kunming on the Laos-China Railway.

Boarding the train

When I bought the ticket online, I was confused to find that there was no ticket attached to the email. I went to the ticket enquiry desk and showed them my booking number and passport, and they printed out a ticket for me. I was soon to discover why there was no ticket in the email.

The gates to the platform open 15 minutes before the train arrives. I have experienced this boarding system in China before, and I am still amazed that so many people can be processed in such an orderly manner.

When I got to the ticket barrier, I noticed that passengers were scanning their ID cards. Instead of using a ticket, I was required to scan my passport. My passport details were included when I booked the ticket, so this was the only information required.

Like the departure hall, the boarding process is designed so that there is no lingering on the platform. Passengers are boarded when the train is already at the platform.

There is enough time for a photo.

Onboard

I booked an economy seat, which is in a 2×3 configuration.

The main selling point for trains (over flying) is the comfortable seats and ample leg room.

There are power outlets under the seats.

High-speed railways in China travel up to 350 km/h, though the Nanning to Hong Kong service has a top speed of 250 km/h.

Toilets are built to be wheelchair accessible.

The train also has squat toilets.

There is a cafeteria section onboard, so this was a good excuse to go for a walk through the carriages.

There is a limited variety of snacks onboard, so bring your own if you are a picky eater.

There are hot meals available that are the usual meat, veg, and rice combo.

This pork and rice meal costs 48 RMB ($7.09 USD). The rice is under the top container.

There is also hot water for instant noodles.

There is no wifi onboard, but I had internet access on my eSIM. The generous legroom makes it easy to open the laptop to do some work, or you can look out the window and watch the scenery of Southern China.

Hong Kong West Kowloon Station

The train arrived on time at Hong Kong West Kowloon Station. Immigration procedures for China and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region are processed in the same building.

Hong Kong is connected by high-speed rail to major cities across China.

The departure hall is an architectural wonder, and it has more restaurants to choose from than Nanning.

The main problem with Hong Kong West Kowloon is trying to get out of the station. The MRT station (Austin) is not seamlessly connected, and it’s difficult to exit on foot due to being surrounded by large roads.

Overall, this was a great travel experience, and I look forward to riding more high-speed railways in China.

Nam Dinh is a city in Ninh Binh province in the Red River Delta region of Vietnam. I visited Nam Dinh in October 2025 as part of a rail trip where I was stopping at lesser-visited cities. This was a research trip for my website, Rail Vietnam.

I was on my way from Vinh to Hanoi, and I stopped at Nam Dinh mainly because I was intrigued by why the line takes such a dramatic detour on the North-South line.

[Vietnam Railway Map.svg by Dragfyre via Wikimedia Commons.]

Nam Dinh was the capital city of Nam Dinh province until Nam Dinh was merged into Ninh Binh in July 2025. I was previously visiting every provincial capital in Vietnam, which was 63 provinces and cities. The provincial mergers have now reduced the list to 34, but I will probably still visit the former capitals.

There is hardly any travel information about Nam Dinh online (apart from empty Tripadvisor pages), and there is no Wikitravel page. I did find a backpacker blog that created a guide to Nam Dinh, but this was an obvious AI hallucination once I explored Nam Dinh (I’m not giving them a link). This problem is going to become more common.

What ended up being most useful was this map from 1924 on the Nam Dinh Wikipedia page.

[Nam Dinh Map from 1924 via Wikimedia Commons.]

The citadel no longer exists, and its footprint has been erased from the current street grid. The other streets are the same, though, so I used this map as the most likely place to find old and interesting buildings.

These are my notes from my visit to Nam Dinh.

Nam Dinh Old City – Hanoi in miniature

Nam Dinh is about 85 km south of Hanoi. The city was an important textile centre in the colonial era, and the province (or former province area) is still a major textile hub today.

Walking around Nam Dinh is like walking around parts of the Old City of Hanoi without the traffic.

Someone in Vietnam commented on my Instagram that they thought I was in Hanoi.

Also similar to Hanoi is that most of the historic shophouses have disappeared, and the shopfronts are a mishmash of different styles.

Most of the high-rises in Nam Dinh are apartment blocks outside the city centre. The inner city features skinny tubehouses that are common in Vietnam, with some larger office buildings that beef up the skyline.

Every province in Vietnam has a provincial museum, and they are often the architectural highlights of the city. Now that the provinces have been merged, these museums will need to be renamed.

[Nam Dinh Museum.]

Provincial museums usually have war remnants around the building.

Another museum is the Nam Dinh Textile Museum. This is at the site of the historic Nam Dinh Textile Factory, which was demolished.

City theatres are another landmark to seek out.

I didn’t intend to make so many comparisons to Hanoi, but the Nam Dinh Flag Tower looks remarkably similar to the Flag Tower of Hanoi.

As I have mentioned countless times in other city notes, if you are in a new city in Vietnam, seek out the central market. The main market here is Cho Rong (Dragon Market), which is easily identified by the dragons on the roof.

Vi Xuyen Lake

Vi Xuyen Lake is a good place for a green walk in the city centre.

The lake and the Khoai Dong Parish Church appeared to be the most prominent landmarks when doing an image search for Nam Dinh.

Nam Dinh River

Referring to the old map again, the road along the Nam Dinh River looked like a potential place for colonial-era buildings. The river is connected to the Red River, and thus connected to Hanoi.

The riverfront road has an embankment in front of it, so the only river view is on the embankment.

I saw one old building of note there, and there is one hotel and not much else to do.

Big churches, domed homes, and phoney coat of arms of the United Kingdom

The Red River Delta and North Central Vietnam are famous for big churches. If you search for things to do in Nam Dinh, you will find guides for churches scattered around the former province. To see these, you will need your own transport or take a guided tour. For this report, I was focused on sites in the city.

The Khoai Dong Parish Church (which can be seen from the lake) is one of the main landmarks of the city.

The city of Nam Dinh was building a new cathedral when I visited.

Here is what it will eventually look like.

Also popular in the North Central region are new mansions with domes that look like churches.

I saw this building from a distance and walked towards it, thinking it was something significant, only to find it was a multipurpose business building.

I’ve seen many of these new rich houses that have the coat of arms of the United Kingdom, though with different details, such as the lion and unicorn on opposite sides. This is something I have seen all over Vietnam, and I assume it’s what people who have come into money think how people with money decorate their houses.

The home of phở?

Nam Dinh is supposedly the birthplace of phở, though Hanoi also claims this title. My friend Connla wrote what is probably the best article ever written about phở (the purist’s guide to phở in Hanoi). The article gives a brief history of its disputed origins.

Whether phở is from Hanoi or Nam Dinh, I figured I should cover my bases by having phở every day while I was in Nam Dinh. There was a phở restaurant near where I was staying that is from Hanoi, so they have a foot in both camps.

Unlike the protagonists in Connla’s essay, I’m not a purist, so my main criteria for picking a phở restaurant are that they only serve phở (not a menu with several types of dishes) and that it is busy with predominantly Vietnamese diners.

What grabbed my attention at this restaurant was the different cuts of meat hanging in the preparation area.

My palate is not refined enough to distinguish what is the best bowl of anything, so I would never proclaim anywhere to be the best bowl of whatever. I can confidently say that this was a good phở.

Getting the train to Nam Dinh

Nam Dinh Station is the second-last station before Hanoi, and you could come here on a day trip by train if you were looking for a quick train trip from Hanoi. For example:

Train SE5
Depart Hanoi: 8.55
Arrive Nam Dinh: 10.31

Train SE8
Depart Nam Dinh: 14.16
Arrive Hanoi: 16.10

The station is close to the city centre, so you can walk to the main sites from the station if you are travelling light.

[Train SE8 in Nam Dinh]

The day before my train trip, I got a text message from Vietnam Railways alerting me that the train was cancelled. There were big floods in Central Vietnam that disrupted the entire rail network. Some trains were running a limited schedule, while some trains were cancelled outright.

Luckily, Nam Dinh is close enough to Hanoi to have minivan service running at regular intervals.

I will do another trip on the North-South Railway to visit more stations on the line.

A review of the overnight sleeper train service from Hanoi (Vietnam) to Nanning (China).

The Hanoi to Nanning train is the only international service from Vietnam, and one of the few international train services in Southeast Asia.

There is also a Hanoi to Beijing train that is a continuation of the Nanning service. For this article I am reviewing the Hanoi to Nanning section, which includes details on the border crossing.

Buy tickets for the Hanoi-Nanning train

Tickets can be bought online at the official site (dsvn.vn) and at Baolau (Nomadic Notes is an affiliate of Baolau).

If you are booking on the dsvn.vn website, look for Gia Lam (for Hanoi) and Nam Ninh (for Nanning). Baolau also allows you to book the onward service to Beijing.

Usually when you buy tickets online in Vietnam, you will get a PDF copy of the ticket sent to you by email. For the train to Nanning, you need to collect the ticket at the station. The ticket office will check your passport and make sure you have a visa (if required). China has expanded visa-free travel for more countries, so if you are eligible you no longer need to apply for a visa.

The tickets are in Vietnamese, Chinese, and Russian. This is a real relic of the past to have a ticket with no English on it.

The ticket is also old-school with the stapled booklet of multi-page carbon paper tickets.

Gia Lam (Ha Noi)

The train departs from Gia Lam Station and not Ha Noi Station. The easiest way to get there is by Grab taxi, and allow about 30 minutes to get there from the old city.

Gia Lam Station is an unassuming station in a small street. There aren’t many food options in this area, so have dinner before you arrive and stock up on snacks.

It’s a small waiting room with no cafe, so it’s not the best station to hang out at.

Passengers are allowed on 40 minutes before departure, so I was glad to be there early to claim my bed.

Note the dual gauge railway track. Vietnam Railways operates on the metre gauge, while this train from China is on the standard gauge (1435 mm).

The obligatory photo in front of the destination plate.

Onboard

Vietnam railway stations are not accessible if you have mobility issues, and it’s a steep step to get into the carriage at Gia Lam.

The ticket inspector takes your ticket and puts it in a little folder, and swaps it for a boarding card. You get your ticket back before arriving in Nanning (just in case you wanted to keep the ticket).

The train is all sleeper cabins, so there are no seats if you were looking for a cheaper option.

The tickets are Soft Sleeper 4-Berth, and there is no price difference for upper or lower. I requested a Lower Berth when booking on Baolau.

I was surprised to see that you get two pillows and a duvet (unlike the one pillow and blanket combination that you get on Vietnam Railways).

There are power outlets under the communal table, so this is a slight advantage for the lower berth passengers.

The mattress was comfortable, and I was able to fit in the bed without touching the wall. I’m 185 cm (6’1″) and I don’t fit in some Thailand sleeper trains.

There is also enough room to sit up on the upper and lower beds. The beds are permanent (like Vietnam and unlike Thailand where they are folded away in the day time).

There is no food service on this train, so come prepared. I had dinner in Hanoi and brought some snacks. I was sharing the cabin with a young Chinese couple, and they asked if it was ok if they eat noodles in the room. They also bought me a packet of chips, so it was nice to be travelling with these polite youngsters.

Pot noodles are the national travel food in China, and you will always find hot water at airports, train stations, and on trains.

The toilet was clean and spacious.

And there is also a separate wash area.

Vietnam to China border crossing

I would have slept well on this train if it wasn’t for the fact that it is interrupted by a long border-crossing procedure in the middle of the night. I saw the timetable at Gia Lam, and I couldn’t work out why there were such long gaps at the border crossing.

The train departs Gia Lam at 21.20 and arrives at Dong Dang at 00.55 (3h 35m).

At Dong Dang Station, you get off the train with all of your luggage and go through Vietnam immigration.

I estimate there were about 100 passengers on the train, and everyone was processed within an hour. Perhaps they have scheduled a 1h 55m stop in case the train is full and there are processing delays.

The train leaves Dong Dang at 2.50 and arrives at Pingxiang (Bang Tuong in Vietnamese) in China at 4.31. China is 1 hour ahead, so that is a 41 minute trip.

At Pingxiang Station, you get off the train again with all of your luggage and go through Chinese immigration. Visa-free travel for Australians made this trip much easier, but no one mentioned that there is an online arrival form to fill out (it would have been handy if this was mentioned in Hanoi). I activated my esim but it took a while to activate. An immigration officer told a foreigner standing next to me to share his internet with me (thanks random traveller!)

Here is the online arrival card.

Most of the passengers were single men (Vietnamese and Chinese workers), so the random handful of westerners were interviewed while waiting to go through immigration. The interviewers had translation devices and asked the usual questions (where are you going? how long are you staying?)

The train leaves Pingxiang at 6.05 (a 1h 34m stop), so overall it took 4 hours and 10 minutes to cross the border.

By the time the train leaves Pingxiang it is sunrise and there is 4h 1m left on the journey.

Pingxiang to Nanning

The Pingxiang to Nanning section is the only daylight section of the trip, so I wanted to see some scenery. The train goes through the region of Guangxi (officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region), and it is a scenic trip through limestone mountains (similar to Ninh Binh and Ha Long in Northern Vietnam).

Every square metre of flat land is given over to agriculture.

I think I nodded off for 30 minutes, but by now the train was getting close to Nanning.

The train passed a high-speed train on the way into Nanning. Most of China is connected by high-speed rail by now, so it was good to be on one of these slower green trains.

I was talking to a businessman from northern China while waiting for the train at Gia Lam. He was happy to practice his English on someone, and I was happy to get an insight on why someone would get this slow sleeper train. He was setting up a tech business in Hanoi and prefers to travel by train, even though it took him over a day to get there.

I did hardly any research about Nanning before I arrived, apart from saving Nanning Station and my hotel in my AMap app. Nanning has a population of over 5 million people, so I was looking forward for some urban exploration. I will have a separate report on my trip to Nanning.

Nanning Railway Station

The train from Hanoi arrives at Nanning Railway Station. This is the old main station in the middle of the city, and there are plenty of hotels nearby (I stayed at Vienna 3 Best Hotel Guangxi Nanning Station). The main high-speed station is at Nanning East (Nanning Dong Railway Station).

Unlike Gia Lam, the platform is level with the train door, so it is possible to place a ramp on the train door.

While the train was waiting at Pingxiang, some more carriages were added to the train.

These are “Hard Seat” carriages, which are padded bench seats that don’t recline. It’s a shame there isn’t a day train from Nanning to Hanoi with this seating option, as that would be a cheap way to travel to China.

At Nanning I got a glimpse of the connecting train that continues to Beijing.

I wanted to visit Nanning so I had no plan to continue to Beijing, but I am now curious about getting the Hanoi-Nanning-Beijing service another time.

After a few days in Nanning, I continued to Hong Kong on the direct Nanning-Hong Kong service. A foreign couple I met on the train were going straight through to Hong Kong. It’s a tight schedule but it can be done, so I will post another article about how to go from Hanoi to Hong Kong by train.

The future of the Hanoi to Nanning train service

One of the reasons I got this train (apart from it being a cool travel experience) was that I wanted to experience it in its current form before it is eventually upgraded. It will be years before that happens, but plans are already in motion. Vietnam has invited China to help build three railways to connect the two countries. Two of the railways will be upgrades of old lines (Lao Cai-Hanoi-Haiphong and Hanoi-Dong Dang) and there will be a new line from Haiphong to Mong Cai.

China have already built standard-gauge railways to meet these three railways at the border. In addition to the slow train that goes from Nanning to Pingxiang, there is a high-speed railway that operates in the same corridor on another line.

I checked for tickets between Pingxiang and Nanning, and the options include the slow train and high-speed railway.

The high-speed service is 1h 10m while the sleeper train is 4h 1m. The distance from Pingxiang to Gia Lam is 176 km, so that trip could be feasibly done in an hour.

[Train distance table at Gia Lam Station.]

If the new train line is built so that the immigration facilities for both countries are in one station, then the border stoppage time could be reduced to one hour. That would then make it a 3-hour trip from Hanoi to Nanning. Until that happens, enjoy the sleepover to China.

Read more railways of Vietnam and train travel stories from around the world. Also follow my other site dedicated to rail travel in Vietnam.

The oddly modern Vinh Station, the old apartments from the German Democratic Republic, remnants of the Nghe An Ancient Citadel, Vinh Market and the famous foam coffee, Ho Chi Minh, Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, and future Vinh on the high-speed railway.

Vinh is the capital city of Nghe An province in the North Central Coast region of Vietnam. It’s about halfway between Ninh Binh and Phong Nha, and not many visitors stop in between. That alone was enough reason for me to visit.

Vinh is on the North-South Railway, so I booked a train trip from Da Nang to Hanoi, stopping at some less-visited places along the way.

I arrived on a cloudy day after spending a day on the train from Dong Ha. The train was outrunning a tropical storm that hit the central coast area (around Hue and Da Nang), so I was glad to arrive to see that it wasn’t raining.

I mention the weather to forewarn that most of the photos in this article are grey and dull. I had planned to visit the beach of Vinh to see what a resort beach looks like in the North Central Coast region, but I have been to enough beaches on grey days to know that I would be disappointed.

These are the notes of my visit to Vinh in October 2025.

Vinh Train Station

Vinh Station is an unusual design compared to other stations in Vietnam. It has that “built after the war” vibe that can be found in Eastern Europe.

There is a photo of the old station in the waiting room, which hints at what Vinh used to look like before the war.

The grey weather added to the ambience of my initial perception of Vinh. I walked out of the station and was greeted with a wide and straight road.

The wide streets and greyness of it all made me feel like I was in a former Eastern Bloc country, and this was another reason why I was curious to visit Vinh.

The DDR Apartments of Vinh

Vinh is known for the apartment blocks that were built with assistance from the German Democratic Republic in the 1970s.

The apartments are on the main street in the middle of the city, and they are gradually disappearing as modern buildings replace them in these prime locations.

I wrote an article about the apartments at Future Southeast Asia: The last days of the DDR Apartments of Vinh.

Remnants of the Nghe An Ancient Citadel

What would have been the tourism highlight of the city was destroyed during the wars. Vinh had an ancient citadel, and its star-shaped footprint can still be seen on the map.

[Map of old citadel of Vinh.]

There are three gates that are somewhat intact.

[Left Gate of Nghe An Citadel.]

The moat is also intact, though it loses its visual impact without a wall to go with it. The citadel is a residential area with houses along the moat.

This article has an aerial photo of the moat and some old photos.

Vinh Market and the famous foam coffee

As I have mentioned many times before, when you are in an unfamiliar city in Vietnam and don’t know what to do, head for the central market.

The Vinh central market is architecturally nothing to write home about, but little did I know that one of the most intriguing cafes in Vietnam is hidden in the bowels of this building.

I got a message from an English teacher from England who lives in Vinh. He saw my update on LinkedIn, which has unexpectedly become a useful social media platform for Vietnam. He invited me for a coffee inside the market, so we met outside and I followed him through the labyrinthian interior.

Long Ly Cafe is named after the husband and wife team that operate the cafe, and Cafe Bọt (Foam Coffee) is the type of coffee that is served here.

The foam is freshly whipped on demand. As far as I can tell, the foam is coffee-infused whipped cream, though the articles I have read say that the recipe is a secret. Mr Long has been here for over 20 years, and he still makes the coffees. In addition to walk-in customers, there were many delivery drivers coming and going, as well as deliveries to other workers in the market.

What is interesting about this coffee is that it hasn’t spread across the country yet. There are many types of coffee in Vietnam that are associated with cities:

– Ca Phe Sua Da (synonymous with Saigon, and called Ca Phe Saigon in Central Vietnam)
– Coconut Coffee (Da Nang)
– Salt Coffee (Hue)
– Egg Coffee (Hanoi)

Maybe when Mr Long retires he will give up the recipe and foam coffee will become common across Vietnam. It could be known as Long Coffee, or Vinh Coffee to put Vinh on the coffee map.

A foam coffee cost 15,000 VND (0.57 USD).

[Cafe Bọt menu (October 2025).]

Legend has it that Mr Long is the second-most Instagrammed/TikTokked person in Vinh, after Ho Chi Minh.

Ho Chi Minh

Ho Chi Minh was born in a village outside of Vinh in 1890 (his birth name was Nguyen Sinh Cung). While technically not from Vinh, he was from Nghe An province, so there is an appropriate statue in Vinh for the provincial hero.

Nguyen Thi Minh Khai

Someone who was born in Vinh was Nguyen Thi Minh Khai. She was born in 1910 under the name of Nguyen Thi Vinh, and was executed in Saigon by the French in 1941.

Nguyen Thi Minh Khai is one of the 1,375 names in the database of street and public work names. Some names are more prominent than others, and Nguyen Thi Minh Khai is a name I see in almost every city. Maybe I notice this name more because I lived on Nguyen Thi Minh Khai in Ho Chi Minh City for a while. The name is seared onto my brain like where I lived in Melbourne (Barkly St and Mitford St), which are now part of my life history.

The Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Memorial House is on the main street (where the DDR apartments used to be).

There is an altar and some information of her life (Vietnamese only). Here is an article about the life of Comrade Nguyen Thi Minh Khai.

The memorial site has some photos of old Vinh, of which there is no trace of today.

[Avenue Marechal Foch.]

A shame that the old Railway Hotel no longer exists.

[Hotel de la Gare.]

Food in Vinh

Some provinces have their signature dishes, and Nhe An is famous for eel soup (súp lươn Nghệ An).

I like the presentation of the fish at this banh canh ca loc restaurant. The pieces are stacked in a way that everyone gets the same portion.

Apart from the English teacher I met, in the four days I was in Vinh I saw two other guys that looked like English teachers, and two travellers with backpacks. I mention this as I was a curiosity to the diners at the restaurant.

Future Vinh

I keep a list of major developments in cities of Southeast Asia at my Future Cities series. There is not enough happening in Vinh to justify a full post, but the arrival of the Sheraton Hotel indicates a new era for the city.

Next to the Sheraton is Vincom Plaza, and they were both nearly finished when I was there. Not that my boss would let me stay there (it’s me, I’m the boss), but if you want a fancy hotel with a view in Vinh, then use my link to book a room at Sheraton Vinh.

I wasn’t expecting to see much here, so the Sheraton was a surprise. I was more interested in seeing Vinh as it is now (including the remaining DDR apartments) before the high-speed railway is built (if it gets built at all).

Vinh will be one of the 5 main express stations (Hanoi – Vinh – Danang – Nha Trang – Ho Chi Minh City) out of a total of 23 stations. Being one of the express stations will be transformative for the fortunes of Vinh, and maybe it will become a thriving metropolis after the railway is built.

Follow the construction of the railway at my Vietnam High-Speed Railway page.

A good Vinh guide

This Vinh guide is on a personal website of a resident English teacher.

Onward travel

From Vinh, I got the train to Nam Dinh.

The Phnom Penh Airport Express Bus connects the city centre to Techo International Airport. Here are the bus details, including the route and ticketing information.

Airport Express Bus route and stops

The Airport Express Bus has limited stops between the airport and city centre.

[Map of Phnom Penh Airport Express Bus.]

The route map of the Airport Express Bus.

[Airport Express Bus route map.]

The Airport Express Bus on the city map gives a better idea of how far the airport is.

If you are staying in the riverside area, the Canadia Park bus stop is the most useful stop.

[Canadia Park Bus Stop.]

If you are staying in the BKK1 area, the Royal University Of Law And Economic Sciences bus stop is closer.

[Royal University Of Law And Economic Sciences bus stop.]

The final stop is at the Kouch Cannon Roundabout Bus Station (Phnom Penh City Bus Terminal), near the Embassy of France. There are not as many hotels around here, thus the Canadia Park stop will be the most useful (though check the map to see what is most useful for you).

If you are unfamiliar with the city, here is my guide on where to stay in Phnom Penh.

[Airport Express Bus at Kouch Cannon Roundabout Bus Station.]

Going from the city to the airport, the University of Health Sciences bus stop is the most useful stop. This is near the Phnom Penh Railway Station.

[University of Health Sciences bus stop.]

The bus stops have shelters that are clearly marked “Airport Express Bus”.

[R & F City Bus Stop]

Airport Express Bus timetable

The bus runs approximately every hour. A timetable is on the airport website.

[Airport Express Bus timetable from Techo International Airport.]

[Airport Express Bus timetable from Kouch Cannon Roundabout Bus Station.]

Airport Express Bus at Techo International Airport

The bus stop is outside the terminal building at the end of the carpark. There are some signs pointing in the direction of the bus stop.

I had some taxi/tuk-tuk drivers approach me to try and persuade my to get a ride. I said I was getting a bus and one of the drivers said that the bus doesn’t run very often and it is slow. Ignore such taxi touts (which is good advice for any airport).

[A long walk through the airport car park.]

Tickets for the Airport Express Bus

The ticket price is 1,500 KHR (0.37 USD) (as of December 2025). The driver doesn’t handle cash so there is an old-school cash drop-box. This is a problem if you don’t have any change. Luckily I had some small riel notes from my last trip so I was able to pay the exact amount.

There is also Tap and Pay for the local payment system WingPay, but this doesn’t accept international cards. Payment by QR code has become the dominant payment system in Cambodia, so payment by Visa and Mastercard is not as prevalent.

If you are arriving at Techo International Airport without riel, there are ATMs and a bank in the arrival hall. Cambodia uses USD and KHR, and many of the ATMs only dispense 100 USD notes. This is inconvenient when you arrive and you are trying to break the note with a small purchase. I took a $100 note to the bank and they converted it to riel. They gave me 20,000 KHR notes (about $5), which is more manageable, but still not useful for buying a bus ticket. Ask for some small change as well (eg some 1,000 and 500 KHR notes).

[Canadia Bank at Techo International Airport.]

Onboard the Airport Express Bus

The Airport Express Bus is city bus with seats and standing room, not a seat-only coach.

There is also a section for luggage.