Romantic ride: It may not be the Orient Express but the Transindochinois in the late 1930s was still a glamourous train service with four different classes, sleeper compartments and a buffet car.
IN 1936, when the French first launched the “Transindochinois” railway service linking Hanoi with Saigon, there were gala celebrations, sports competitions and commemorative stamps galore – all presided over by the debonair Governor-General and the Vietnamese Emperor, Bao Dai.
The train itself was the apogee of Gallic style, completing the 1730km journey in 40 hours, offering four different classes, sleeper compartments and a buffet car. Sadly, the Japanese invasion of French Indochina and WWII ended the service within four years, leaving just the memory of what remains the longest regular rail trip in Southeast Asia.
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