The night train to Nha Trang  by Joseph Lieberman  A few minutes
before dawn on the night train to Nha Trang I awake to the sound
of a nonstop diesel speeding past in the opposite direction. It
hurtles past just inches away from the open windows of our own
side-tracked train, sending us rocking nearly out of our bunks.
Despite some inconveniences, a sleeper berth on the night train
remains the best way to get from Saigon to Nha Trang.  Welcome
aboard Vietnam’s Nha Trang Express. It may not be the last word
in elegance but it does get you there, minus a few hours of
sleep, and is a better bet than the alternatives.  The only
other land-based travel option is not anyone’s idea of a
relaxing journey. It requires riding a retired Kyoto city bus 12
hours over Vietnam’s rough country roads. These aging vehicles,
still displaying their Japanese signboards, were donated years
ago as part of an aid program.  Jason Tri Tran, a manager at the
Hotel Equatorial in Ho Chi Minh City, had a better idea. “If you
want to arri