Tag Archives: backpackers

Travelinds, Vietnam

Vietnam Trains

17 August 2014

Vietnam TrainsLike the curious travellers we are, Travelinds had read all about the train travel in Vietnam and figured this would be a great way to see the country.

Vietnam is connected by train from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh city and the total trip between these two big cities spans about 36 hours. There are different types of trains, cabin classes and also differing prices, depending on how you buy tickets.

Our original plan was to do the backpacking thing and hop on-hop off whenever we wanted to stop (which sounded easy enough in theory, but in reality was quite time consuming and, due to the language barrier (and “tourist” tickets vs. “local” tickets), required slightly more advanced planning than just pitching up at the train station in time to catch a train).

We also didn’t have an ‘open’ ticket as we’d envisioned, but had to buy tickets for each specific trip (Hanoi to Hue, etc.).

The idea was to spend as many nights on the train as possible, to save time and money on hotels and not miss out on whole travel days (especially since trips were between eight and sixteen hours).

Vietnam Trains
Sleeper cabin (4 bunks)

There seems to be a lot of mixed information about the trains and purchasing tickets and we didn’t have enough time to figure it all out.

We had tried to read up a lot about it before we arrived, but each trip turned out slightly differently from the last and we still don’t actually know if half the stuff we read was true or relevant!

Train travel through Vietnam was an amazing experience, so much fun and definitely worth the extra effort and hours.

Prices for train travel were reasonable, it was comfortable, we felt safe even in the soft seats section and we didn’t get ripped off by any sneaky con men along the way.

I would definitely do this all again!

Malaysia, Travelinds

Borneo Sandakan Backpackers

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01 February 2014

Borneo Sandakan Backpackers was a pleasant surprise. It’s a clean, friendly, comfortable backpackers in the heart of Sandakan, with an attached tour company that has some of the most efficient staff I have ever met.

A head’s up from a friend (read their blog of six months touring in South East Asia) told us to use this backpackers as our stop off point in Sandakan and also arrange our Kinabatangan river tour through them.  We followed their advice and were not disappointed, not even once.

Good points at the backpackers were the clean rooms and bathrooms, airconditioning in the private room, 24 hour desk service, delicious breakfasts (egg, toast, jam, coffee, oats) and friendly, efficient staff.  It is also in the Harbour Square location in Sandakan, which is close to the mall, the bus terminal, the minibus terminal, restaurants and the markets. The staff (especially Jonathan) are especially helpful and friendly when it comes to giving free advice on travelling in and around Sandakan.  There are maps, posters, bus schedules and tourism brochures available at the backpackers to help you plan the best trip for you.

A Bad point was the dripping shower overflow (kept us awake a little), but that was all.

TIP: Be careful about backpackers with similar names like Sandakan backpackers, Borneo backpackers etc – especially if you are booking online.  This is Borneo Sandakan Backpackers and Borneo Sandakan Tours.  It is a red and white logo as on the website.  Read TripAdvisor Reviews for more information.