Stretching from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City, the railway reflects the country’s turbulent history. It remains essential today, supporting industries, transporting market goods, and serving as a critical north-south connection, though still in need of upgrades. Amidst the challenges, these resilient trains continue to play a vital role in both Vietnam’s economy and daily life. We are traveling with Zay Harding.
Did you notice something? Even tough there is poverty, everywhere he goes, people are laughing, smiling and treating him nicely. I lived in Vietnam two years. Great people!
not poverty... people leading a hard life - yes, lack of modern amenities - yes spartan/frugal living conditions - yes... but that's not what makes poverty... poverty is a state of hopeless depression, a state of humiliation by your lack of money &/or basic resources. an existence which is either dehumanizing or where things like hunger and thirst become a major factor of life... this is a thing you do not really see in Vietnam today, at least not in most places, there are a few slums in Saigon and other big cities, but in general, the conditions people live in do not prevent them from living fulfilling lives of a sort.
I don't think people really understand just how freeing less can be Maintaining is so much harder than obtaining ppl spend a great deal of time and energy to gain without realizing just how much more will go into maintaining it for the rest of their lives the process of Life maintenance can take the smile right off your face and the generosity right out of your heart There is a power in the naivety at the start of a life goal a magic in the perseverance of the journey unseen forces that helped propel you forward but it doesn't last forever having less believe it or not may not give you an easy life what is the path of least resistance to a smile
He could've opt ticket for good trains or ac coaches. But purposefully opted to show the dark side in order to generalize to get a perception that whole Vietnam is poor. I have seen many vlogs from Indian travelers showed both. There you can see the prosperity also. This guy has an agenda.
I am a Vietnamese living in Hanoi. The video recorded for a long time years ago. Now Vietnam has change a lot. Thank you for sharing my country to the world.
@@ianhomerpura8937nothing much 😂 as a Vietnamese, I am wondering what has changed "a lot" as the topic owner said. Especially in the railway area. Still those diesel-electric locomotives, 1m rail and old fashioned stations, trains still have to wait each other
@@ianhomerpura8937 If he means "changed a lot" in terms of cityscapes, then yes, that's definitely true-many of the urban streets shown in this video have transformed and look much more modern now. But if we're talking about the railway system, not much has really changed, except for the introduction of modern, comfortable cross-country tourist trains that I’ve had the chance to experience. In any case, the government has pretty much "abandoned" the railway sector in Vietnam, as it currently only accounts for around 0,1% of total passenger transport. These days, most Vietnamese travel by car, mainly because of the highway network, or by plane for long-distance trips
Is the rail line through the French Quarter in Hanoi open to tourists now? I was there about 6 years ago and the police had cordoned the area off to tourists, apparently out of safety concerns.
I'm Vietnamese. I am grateful for you for displaying my country and my people to the world. But my hometown is developing well now, maybe this video is old. Please come back again for the renewal. Thank you.
I am Vietnamese. I'm sure these videos were filmed in 2014 15 even longer before that Hanoi station had not made it easy for other passengers to get on and off. Thank you for making a video about my country's railways But now the railways of my country and my country have developed much more than that!
I am a Vietnamese and I would like to correct that there is no longer a DMZ area (in case you say this is a historical site, it would be correct), Vietnam gained independence several decades ago, please give accurate information. FYI, Vietnam is planning to build a 350km/h high-speed railway
I'm Vietnamese. I think you should come back to my country again because your video seems to have been filmed a long time ago. Now the railway has changed a lot!
It's clear that this video is quite old, as nowadays, almost no Vietnamese people travel by train anymore. According to 2023 data, the railway system accounts for only 0,1% of the country's total passenger traffic. Most Vietnamese now choose to travel by car, mainly because of the developed highway network, or by plane for longer trips.
i want to clear this statement, you mean south vietnam is really nice and friendly, not northern people who have lots of awful attitutes toward other peoples
@@ThinhNguyen-cp8dwSorry to break your mood, but if that is your intention to split the nation again, you are sorely mistaken as all Vietnamese the same. No more, no less. There is no separation here, my friend.
@@quangminhnguyen2504 what is the phrase all vietnamese are the same?? stop making me laugh, just look at the news, alot of negative informations such as thieves, robbers, mass violence always come from upon the 17 area. So what do you mean saying that all we are the same??
Goes without saying, I’m grateful to you for posting all these awesome videos. If I may suggest something though, it would be very helpful if there was a short note somewhere, letting us know when each documentary was created.
Our country has changed a lot from the time this video was recorded. Now we have many high quality and modern train in service, but these picture makes me remember my childhood so much. Anyway thanks for uploading this video. We are always welcome friends from over the world wanna visit my country. Welcome to Vietnam!
Thanks you for taking us into the history line of Vietnam. You are giving the younger Vietnamese an understanding of how their country has come a long way to be what its today.
Love the fact that you rode like a local from Hanoi to Hue. 7 years ago, I shared a 4 berth couchette going the other way and let's just say, a few bevvies and street food purchases were all we needed to keep us entertained the entire journey. Fair play for getting stuck in
I like the video. When watching it, it gave me mixed feelings of joy and sadness. I hope that Vietnam will develop faster in the near future, so that many countries around the world will know that Vietnam is a modern, developed country.
Wow, there really is intelligence on UA-cam after all. I really enjoyed this documentary, it went from humorous to sad and back so many times. I've watched most all "World's Most Dangerous School Journeys" or something like that and they were amazing as well.
Thank you for this, I really enjoyed sharing your journey through amazing Vietnam and it's beautiful people. Your presentation style and personality make for a perfect travel documentary - great work.
We just invested 7500 billion VND (roughly 300 million USD) toward improving the safety infrastructure of the existing railway system. They announced a huge investment in building bullet trains this very month, so the video can't come at a better time. Thanks for your coverage!
As a Vietnamese American, I find it interesting how the language is translated from Viet to English. I'm not 100% fluent so that's probably why I think the chosen translations (for the words I understand) are interesting
28:51 i would've loved to be standing on the TGV between Barcelona and the first french station!!! but tickets are always "sold out" until the train reaches the first and last stop after leaving Barcelona in Spain. where many passengers get off.
I remember during the time when there were trains operated by the Philippine National Railways (PNR) before its rehabilitation. Most of the traincars have grills to prevent anyone from being thrown by stones or human manures. Now all of these locomotives and traincars (most of them were purchased from Indonesia,.others donated by Japan Railways) were transferred to Calamba City, Laguna to give way for the construction of the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) that will be opened by 2028 or later. I miss riding trains but hoping for the better railway system in our beloved country.
FYI, this documentary was made in 2014 and those railcars were retired a few years afterwards. Anyone who has traveled in VN in recent years would know that the cars are now super comfy with AC. The beds are fine but the toilets still stink pretty hard.
More like a Vietnam War documentary and what the Americans destroyed, instead of a train ride. So much about the railway and train services there was not even touched on.
Many people question on the date of the video and they maybe right. How can the author say about this? If it’s too old how come it was posted just few days ago?
I wish they focused more on the "now" than the war. Especially considering the presenter doesn't seem to have a good idea of what this war even was. America was defending the south from the north. They were in the right but they waged war in a very brutal manner, attacking civilians and bombing cambodia. There was no good and bad guy in this conflict, like there was in the indochina war.
The egg is a 90 day egg, called an owee-globe. The Vietnamese bury eggs in the ground for 90 days and yes it is a delicacy. My brother tried one when he served with the U.S. Army in Vietnam in the mid '60s.
@@johnc3351 I gagged watching that ....even a bit of shell on a boiled egg does that to me ...not squeamish can eat raw mince meat no problem...maybe it's the crunch factor !
Bro dug a documentary out of its grave and thought us Vietnamese and Hanoi citizens wouldn’t notice. I saw a bus that’s stopped in service that’s in a so good condition, I knew right away this documentary is outdated.
Ah yes, back when D8E locomotive (or even the Dong Dang line) was still running. Using D8E (the white streamlined one) meant that they weren't actually running standard gauge, plus there's no standard gauge connection to Hanoi Station anyway (for now) as Gia Lam station (in Northeast Hanoi) is the farthest the standard gauge goes (for now).
I’m curious how old your film footage is. It is misleading the current condition of Vietnam. Traveled on many trains in Vietnam. I have never seen any in that poor of condition.
Stretching from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City, the railway reflects the country’s turbulent history. It remains essential today, supporting industries, transporting market goods, and serving as a critical north-south connection, though still in need of upgrades. Amidst the challenges, these resilient trains continue to play a vital role in both Vietnam’s economy and daily life. We are traveling with Zay Harding.
Nice ❤
iv just unsubbed for deleting my comment , CHUMP
I like to join with a camera crew
It is called SAIGON!
That is only because they didn’t know what can people do with money in modern society.
Did you notice something? Even tough there is poverty, everywhere he goes, people are laughing, smiling and treating him nicely. I lived in Vietnam two years. Great people!
What do you expect people to do in front of a camera? Cry?
@@iftikhar-ii7cy until you filmed westerners or americans without pay!!!
not poverty... people leading a hard life - yes, lack of modern amenities - yes spartan/frugal living conditions - yes... but that's not what makes poverty...
poverty is a state of hopeless depression, a state of humiliation by your lack of money &/or basic resources. an existence which is either dehumanizing or where things like hunger and thirst become a major factor of life...
this is a thing you do not really see in Vietnam today, at least not in most places, there are a few slums in Saigon and other big cities, but in general, the conditions people live in do not prevent them from living fulfilling lives of a sort.
I don't think people really understand just how freeing less can be
Maintaining is so much harder than obtaining ppl spend a great deal of time and energy to gain without realizing just how much more will go into maintaining it for the rest of their lives the process of Life maintenance can take the smile right off your face and the generosity right out of your heart
There is a power in the naivety at the start of a life goal a magic in the perseverance of the journey unseen forces that helped propel you forward but it doesn't last forever having less believe it or not may not give you an easy life what is the path of least resistance to a smile
He could've opt ticket for good trains or ac coaches. But purposefully opted to show the dark side in order to generalize to get a perception that whole Vietnam is poor. I have seen many vlogs from Indian travelers showed both. There you can see the prosperity also. This guy has an agenda.
I am a Vietnamese living in Hanoi. The video recorded for a long time years ago. Now Vietnam has change a lot. Thank you for sharing my country to the world.
Yep, this episode was from 2016. Just curious what has changed with Vietnam Railways since then.
@@ianhomerpura8937nothing much 😂 as a Vietnamese, I am wondering what has changed "a lot" as the topic owner said. Especially in the railway area. Still those diesel-electric locomotives, 1m rail and old fashioned stations, trains still have to wait each other
@@ianhomerpura8937 If he means "changed a lot" in terms of cityscapes, then yes, that's definitely true-many of the urban streets shown in this video have transformed and look much more modern now. But if we're talking about the railway system, not much has really changed, except for the introduction of modern, comfortable cross-country tourist trains that I’ve had the chance to experience. In any case, the government has pretty much "abandoned" the railway sector in Vietnam, as it currently only accounts for around 0,1% of total passenger transport. These days, most Vietnamese travel by car, mainly because of the highway network, or by plane for long-distance trips
@@InfernoPhoenix1211tiền đâu mà làm đường sắt cao tốc. Máy bay đang rất tệ vì ít hãng và giá cao . VN đang khao khát tàu cao tốc nhưng nó quá đắt.
Is the rail line through the French Quarter in Hanoi open to tourists now? I was there about 6 years ago and the police had cordoned the area off to tourists, apparently out of safety concerns.
I'm Vietnamese. I am grateful for you for displaying my country and my people to the world. But my hometown is developing well now, maybe this video is old. Please come back again for the renewal. Thank you.
I am Vietnamese. I'm sure these videos were filmed in 2014 15 even longer before that Hanoi station had not made it easy for other passengers to get on and off. Thank you for making a video about my country's railways But now the railways of my country and my country have developed much more than that!
Yup, at 3:43 we could see the year this video is filmed.
2014 is still modern :)
I am a Vietnamese and I would like to correct that there is no longer a DMZ area (in case you say this is a historical site, it would be correct), Vietnam gained independence several decades ago, please give accurate information. FYI, Vietnam is planning to build a 350km/h high-speed railway
Alright 👍
That'll be wonderful for people. 🚉
Amazing
Don’t want to burst your bubble. Vietnam is not going to build any railroad without help from China.
@@bluffdotcom5504 And?
crazy how did my country look like 10 years ago, the documentary gave me nostalgia...
I'm Vietnamese. I think you should come back to my country again because your video seems to have been filmed a long time ago. Now the railway has changed a lot!
I respect all Vietnamese 🇻🇳 for all they won and all they lost. Love respect and peace for all living in a Vietnam ❤❤
It's clear that this video is quite old, as nowadays, almost no Vietnamese people travel by train anymore. According to 2023 data, the railway system accounts for only 0,1% of the country's total passenger traffic. Most Vietnamese now choose to travel by car, mainly because of the developed highway network, or by plane for longer trips.
You forgot to mention motorbikes.
This video about 10 years ago (2014)
The Vietnamese are the nicest people I've met in my world travels so far. No better friend, no worse enemy!
Chúng tôi luôn chào đón..nếu bạn quay lại Việt Nam..cám ơn❤
❤❤❤
i want to clear this statement, you mean south vietnam is really nice and friendly, not northern people who have lots of awful attitutes toward other peoples
@@ThinhNguyen-cp8dwSorry to break your mood, but if that is your intention to split the nation again, you are sorely mistaken as all Vietnamese the same. No more, no less. There is no separation here, my friend.
@@quangminhnguyen2504 what is the phrase all vietnamese are the same?? stop making me laugh, just look at the news, alot of negative informations such as thieves, robbers, mass violence always come from upon the 17 area. So what do you mean saying that all we are the same??
I rode this train from SAIGON to Hai Phong in2006. Back then I think it was about 30+hr train ride. I enjoyed it very much…. 😊 ❤
Goes without saying, I’m grateful to you for posting all these awesome videos. If I may suggest something though, it would be very helpful if there was a short note somewhere, letting us know when each documentary was created.
3:41 2014.
The video was filmed before 2015. Because I saw the old statue of Uncle Ho in Saigon was still there. It was replaced by a new statue in 2015.
Our country has changed a lot from the time this video was recorded. Now we have many high quality and modern train in service, but these picture makes me remember my childhood so much. Anyway thanks for uploading this video. We are always welcome friends from over the world wanna visit my country. Welcome to Vietnam!
Fantastic! Showing the world thru documentary films like this is a treasure of knowledge, Thank you @ Free Documentary. Watching from The Philippines.
Thanks for sharing this wonderful film to know little about the past history of Vietnam during the travel experience from train. Great job 🇻🇳🚇
This video is so old, more than 10y ago. Checked the landmarks and buildings. A lot had changed since there, in a better way.
The uploaded and filmed dates never match on UA-cam. Frustrating. Can be fake information.
Love from Sri Lanka 🇱🇰 to Vietnam 🇻🇳 🙏❤
❤❤❤❤❤ from Hà Nội Việt Nam!!
Love from Sri Lanka ❤ 2024...
Thanks you for taking us into the history line of Vietnam. You are giving the younger Vietnamese an understanding of how their country has come a long way to be what its today.
Love the fact that you rode like a local from Hanoi to Hue. 7 years ago, I shared a 4 berth couchette going the other way and let's just say, a few bevvies and street food purchases were all we needed to keep us entertained the entire journey. Fair play for getting stuck in
Great documentary 👍
🇰🇪🇰🇪🇰🇪🇰🇪🇰🇪🇰🇪
👏👏👏👏👏👏
Many Kenyans always following this channel.
Tell him 😂
i like your story Vietnam........a very inspiring strugggle to peace, independence and development....
I love how the men interact and openly feel happy without considering the tribes or status. The sweet thing God gave everyone ❤️❤️❤️❤️🙏🙏.
Vietnam is A Land of Warm People.
❤🙏🙏🙏
Thank you for such an informative and educating documentary.
I like the video. When watching it, it gave me mixed feelings of joy and sadness. I hope that Vietnam will develop faster in the near future, so that many countries around the world will know that Vietnam is a modern, developed country.
Wow, there really is intelligence on UA-cam after all. I really enjoyed this documentary, it went from humorous to sad and back so many times. I've watched most all "World's Most Dangerous School Journeys" or something like that and they were amazing as well.
Thank you for this, I really enjoyed sharing your journey through amazing Vietnam and it's beautiful people. Your presentation style and personality make for a perfect travel documentary - great work.
Really nostalgic video, thanks !!
I live within walking distance to the southern terminus of the Reunification Express which is in District 3 of Saigon. This is a pretty cool video.
Thanks for a great episode!
Great work, thanks
The American War devastated Vietnam ....... Great to see the recovery
Indeed... The people fought and won. Then rise from the bottom. Just like a Phoenix
I loved Vietnam! Just couldn’t hack the mosquitos!
Great video. I learned a lot.
Love from Bangladesh ❤️💕
We just invested 7500 billion VND (roughly 300 million USD) toward improving the safety infrastructure of the existing railway system.
They announced a huge investment in building bullet trains this very month, so the video can't come at a better time.
Thanks for your coverage!
Nice documentary👌
I am Vietnamese and I approve this video 5:43 that is my uncle 🎉🎉🎉🎉 actually 😅😅😅
Watching from Perth, Australia
As a Vietnamese American, I find it interesting how the language is translated from Viet to English. I'm not 100% fluent so that's probably why I think the chosen translations (for the words I understand) are interesting
You speek more about the war than the railway and train
Love from 🇮🇳 to 🇻🇳
The Long Biên Bridge in Hanoi, Vietnam was designed by the Paris-based firm Daydé & Pillé, not by Gustave Eiffel.
28:51 i would've loved to be standing on the TGV between Barcelona and the first french station!!! but tickets are always "sold out" until the train reaches the first and last stop after leaving Barcelona in Spain. where many passengers get off.
This was nearly 20 years ago, vietnam is much cleaner now, please come visit.
Owh ❤
2014
Thanks for the fact.@@dang19942000
I follow a lot of Vietnam vloggers they are up to date
I travel by airline as do most in Vietnam these days. We have several world class air carriers available. Toi yeu Viet Nam ❤️💛
Nice video 🧑🏻🌾🇨🇦
I remember during the time when there were trains operated by the Philippine National Railways (PNR) before its rehabilitation. Most of the traincars have grills to prevent anyone from being thrown by stones or human manures. Now all of these locomotives and traincars (most of them were purchased from Indonesia,.others donated by Japan Railways) were transferred to Calamba City, Laguna to give way for the construction of the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) that will be opened by 2028 or later. I miss riding trains but hoping for the better railway system in our beloved country.
thank you !
they really connected a high speed locomotive with the normal coaches
wow amazing video
FYI, this documentary was made in 2014 and those railcars were retired a few years afterwards. Anyone who has traveled in VN in recent years would know that the cars are now super comfy with AC. The beds are fine but the toilets still stink pretty hard.
It seem so far of now seeing how much have changed in a decade in Saigon alone.
More like a Vietnam War documentary and what the Americans destroyed, instead of a train ride. So much about the railway and train services there was not even touched on.
The video source might be outdated, before 2017. But still a great view of Vietnam from the train's windows
It was made in 2014
@@Huy99556 I can tell by looking at the train's livery
I did not expect Hugh Jackman to travel by train in Vietnam...
Wow so modern railway track, so capable to manage 350 high speed train
Many people question on the date of the video and they maybe right. How can the author say about this? If it’s too old how come it was posted just few days ago?
train singer had beautiful chorus.... hahaha
Very cool adventure
How old is this documentary 😭
nice
You might very well have been misinformed about the decommissioned trains. There is one outside of the Da Nang train station, surrounded by flowers.
In school we learned about north and south Vietnam... I'm that old.
The trains are still the same and the Metro in Saigon is still not open. Nothing changed since 2016 on this topic !
Great video. In my opinion your wardrobe could have been better.
An American stands near a blast furnace and says "wow, that's so cool." 😅😂😂😂
My homeland country ❤❤❤
17:54 thats my middle school, right behind him
I am Thai. I would like you to railway documentary to the Thai railway, or if you have already done so, thank. 😊
I'm surprised you've never had Vietnamese food. If you're an American, there's Vietnamese food everywhere. The "soup" is for the rice.
10:02 wrong translation
"Standing only", "OK, I'll do it." Bro, you don't want to do it if you have room to yourself let alone standing.
❤❤❤❤❤❤❤from South Africa 🇿🇦 ❤❤❤Vietnam 😂😂😂
How old is this documentary? Because it's shown here that the new Halong Station is still under construction.
At 3:43 if you look at the red banner behind him you could see the year is 2014.
Wait, isn't this part of Lonely Planet series? This was filmed back in early 2010s I think.
I wish they focused more on the "now" than the war. Especially considering the presenter doesn't seem to have a good idea of what this war even was.
America was defending the south from the north. They were in the right but they waged war in a very brutal manner, attacking civilians and bombing cambodia. There was no good and bad guy in this conflict, like there was in the indochina war.
The egg is a 90 day egg, called an owee-globe. The Vietnamese bury eggs in the ground for 90 days and yes it is a delicacy. My brother tried one when he served with the U.S. Army in Vietnam in the mid '60s.
lol. it's called balut and it's incubated anywhere from 14-18 days not 90. if someone had to wait 90 days to sell something, it would not be cheap.
@@johnc3351 I gagged watching that ....even a bit of shell on a boiled egg does that to me ...not squeamish can eat raw mince meat no problem...maybe it's the crunch factor !
I am very lucky, in my country Indonesia, our train conditions are much better
This video is from 2014, it been 10 years ago so i believe Việt Nam train might be better now.
Nope, nothing better is in place train wise, not counting those intra-city ones @@nguyentranminhthoi8962
Very unque experieence in vietname train journy 😊😊
almost identical train in the philippines called PNR. But now its on new phase towards to new train set and new train tracks, goodbye old train 👌
Vietnam looks like a country that tries. Good luck to them!
ZZZZXXXXGood day, love watching your channel, very interesting channel, Super Content.XXXX
You just glossed over a part of their history with the Sino-Vietnam war
Bro dug a documentary out of its grave and thought us Vietnamese and Hanoi citizens wouldn’t notice. I saw a bus that’s stopped in service that’s in a so good condition, I knew right away this documentary is outdated.
Oh my god, I'm making a video about my Vietnamese train. If you have time, please come to Vietnam too.
I am Vietnamese
1st kenyan here 😊
Nobody cares
2:26. There is no DMZ. WTF is this guy talking about!!
Well there qas
Welcome to ThaiNguyen!
Respected Sir/Madam
Lifting and loading by labor is all about technique, timing, and experience, not power.
"Gun pops make me jumpy"
Khe sahn
Jimmy Barnes
trước khi làm video có liên quang tới bản đồ nên chọn bản đồ nào có hoàng sa trường sa nha bạn.
Ah yes, back when D8E locomotive (or even the Dong Dang line) was still running. Using D8E (the white streamlined one) meant that they weren't actually running standard gauge, plus there's no standard gauge connection to Hanoi Station anyway (for now) as Gia Lam station (in Northeast Hanoi) is the farthest the standard gauge goes (for now).
I’m curious how old your film footage is. It is misleading the current condition of Vietnam. Traveled on many trains in Vietnam. I have never seen any in that poor of condition.
ZAY HARDING❤
GLOBE TREKKER
LONG TIME A GO❤
Excellent taren road
I swear the thumbnail is Tommy Lee Jones....