Sleeper Bus Reimagined

Last night, we caught the second true sleeper bus of our trip so far. Truthfully, the first didn’t go all that well. We made it to Ōsaka in one piece, but came away with sickness rather than sleep for the most part. After that experience, Mary was adamant on avoiding any future sleeper bus opportunity. Until now, we have. From Hoi An to Ninh Binh, though—a well-established route, travelling with friends—we gave it another crack.

Honestly, it was great. The eight of us were all booked into the lower of two vertically stacked cabins, each with their own private space and bed. To my surprise, you could (almost) lay perfectly flat. Combined with the provided blanket and pillows, plus a comfortable and soft enough base, sleep was actually possible! Granted, we had little rest from the previous night, but all of us reported proper sleep throughout the ride. Even if my watch disagreed about said sleep quality (I think due to detecting movement), the eleven-hour trip flew by suspiciously quickly.

It was also just fun. Hopping into your little booths together, with you and your friends filling half of the bus, was an enjoyable novelty. Definite school camp vibes. There was also enough room for two in a cabin if you wanted to make it work! If you wanted to be entertained in peace, each pod featuring headphones and a TV. Admittedly, we couldn’t get the TV to play anything except pre-recorded Vietnamese shows, but the functioning Wi-Fi made up for that anyway. You could close the blinds and have your own quiet and dark space whenever you’d like.

Speaking of quiet and peaceful, the ride outdid expectations for me in that regard, too. I’d read of blaring horns throughout the night, but there wasn’t really much noise to report on. Toilet stops were surprisingly frequent, but also not disturbing.

We arrived at 7:30am in Tam Coc more refreshed than anticipated, ready to jump straight into breakfast and a boat tour. Especially when you factor in the low price point for what is effectively cross-country travel and accomodation (<$60AUD), the notion of a sleeper bus immediately starts to make a whole lot more sense. If every experience was like the one we enjoyed last night, I’d absolutely do it more often.