Hard Sleeper

Last night, we left the hustle and bustle of Nha Trang behind. Left behind too was the luxury of the Asia Paradise Hotel. Instead we took the overnight train to Hue. In booking the train, we were mislead a few times - not deliberately I think, just more of a language barrier. There was a great deal of confusion as to when the tour agency closed and opened and how that coincided with train office. In the end, it was our third visit in twelve hours and our agent had the train office on the phone and he confirmed that there was space in first class, but felt the need to reconfirm the price which we had known for quite some time and was not an issue. Having hung up to check with us again on the price, he needed to call back again to book and by that time the space was gone. So second class it was.
The difference between first and second class lay in two features. The first being 4 vs. 6 per room. We being a band of 4 definitely wanted 4 per room. The second being "Soft Sleeper" vs. "Hard Sleeper".
Now, being in marketing, I can see right off that the name of Hard Sleeper is not a good selling point. But what I can say is that it is an accurate description of the bunk they provide. The soft sleeper comes with a 3 inch mattress on top of a rock hard board. The hard sleeper, we were told, just has a thinner mattress. Truth be told, I've had many blankets that were thicker than what served as a mattress.
Not surprisingly, I slept like a baby. The rocking motion of the train put me to sleep as soon as the lights went out.
Donna and company had a rougher time of it. She also has a more sensitive nose than I do and even I noticed the smell was a little more than ripe. In fact, it was really gross whenever the train stopped for a while. As soon as we got moving again, it always smelled a little better.
While it didn't smell any better in first class, and I can always sleep - even on a board, I still want to make the following NOTE TO SELF: Book ahead.