Great Asian Railway Journeys

Hanoi to Ha Long Bay (1x10)

Air date: Feb 07, 2020

Steered by his 1913 Bradshaw’s Guide, Michael continues his thousand-mile journey through what was then French Indochina and is today the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Approaching Hanoi aboard the Unification Railway, Michael passes the famous train street, where the locomotive passes within centimetres of the houses either side of the tracks. Checking into the capital’s famous Metropole Hotel, built at the time of his guidebook, Michael discovers a bunker where guests sheltered from American bombardment during the Vietnam War. And at the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, Michael hears about the nationalist leader and his struggle for independence for Vietnam. Egg coffee is a new experience in the Old Quarter and a water puppet show is a hit. At a former Soviet factory, which once supplied military uniforms to the North Vietnamese army and Viet Cong, Michael discovers a progressive new manufacturer, which supplies sportswear to the United States Olympic team. Michael works out with the workers. The vast container port of Haiphong offers Michael an insight into Vietnam’s future. He ends his journey amid the spectacular limestone islets and turquoise waters of Halong Bay.