Riding the Rails to Nha Trang

The 5:00 am alarm sucked. It was still dark out and I wasn't fully packed. The good news was I was already awake so it was no big deal when my iPhone started whining. The bad news? I was on the toilet for the third time in an hour in a vain attempt to exorcise the fiery demon dwelling in my lower abdomen. I don't know what I ate, but whatever it was certainly didn't care for me too much. Between acts of this obscene one man play, I finished packing and tried to roust Davida from sleep, somewhat of a chore as mornings are not her speciality. We checked out, made it to the prearranged taxi and headed to the Saigon Railway Station to board the 6:25 am train to Nha Trang.

The past few days in Saigon have made me believe I could live here. Living is cheap, the people are fun and friendly and the food is awesome, my current bout of fairly severe gastrointestinal troubles notwithstanding. We spent time wandering the touristy but irresistible District 1 drinking ca phe sua da at low metal tables curbside, squeezing through the tight alleys between stalls at the Ben Thahn market and purchasing bahn mi from nearly every vendor in the district. At night, again seated along the sidewalk, we ate dinner, talked to locals, one of whom insisted we try his fried eel dish after he caught me eyeballing it, and felt genuinely welcomed. Late evenings, we sat in the park near our hotel and watched a popular local sport, dá càu. It's a cross between hackey sack and badminton, played with a shuttlecock that resembles a large blunt dart. A day trip up the Mekong River rounded out our stay and was most likely responsible for my present affliction.

Now I sit in a four berth sleeper compartment for the seven plus hour train ride through rural Vietnam. The room has a lockable sliding door and we're the only two people in here so at least my suffering is private. We're well stocked on TP and I'm hydrating like hell. Nothing to do but wait, hope and stay close to the bathroom.
-Ken