Located, so i love it. Every time i go to train and start walking, the, its 6 am and holloway, the vietnam used capital the times with the daily flag raising on thought in square the National Anthem play and war veterans attend the ceremony. The, the protracted war between what was the north and South Vietnam and the subsequent unification of the country are deeply ingrained in the memories of the vietnamese. It was on this now historic square that revolutionary communist liter hope she meant proclaimed independence of the democratic republic of vietnam in 1945. This mazda, liam, honoring the late president , overlooked the square. But independence was not fully gained until the founding of the socialist republic of vietnam in 1976. At the end of what is known here as the american war. Further east at the heart of one, always bold town, east, one team lake. Nearly 50 years after the war ended, a lot of people have a positive outlook on the future. Transportation infrastructure is struggling to keep pace with the countries rapid development, including both roads and railways. Being across and guard isnt increasingly dangerous profession. When tom long has overseen this crossing for 12 years, the he works 12 hour shift in a job with a lot of responsibility of the human reliability. Right . So when you work here, it becomes your life. Paul, what are you doing in vietnam . We say you have to carry your faith with you the the i was almost 30 when i started working here and id had a range of different jobs before the working here is my face. What is the allow me to i roof. Right. And im, the logs mother was similarly destined to work for the railway. The highly confined surroundings mean the trains rattling through inevitably dictate the rhythm of locals lives, including new in town long. She was across and guard here herself for over 3 decades, and has been living here just as long. And i believe in my community, i suppose it would be a good idea. It was my job to use the pulse of land and build a house for us to the railway, had no objection. And were still here today. Im going to do the my oldest son has also been living here for years, not waiting. And i want to ship this over long, takes his birth and walks the short distance along the tracks back home the its now time for lunch with his wife, his children, and his mother. After sundown, theres a hardy, a range of food available in henrys old town. Again, that means cuisine is extremely varied. Especially here on tie. Un street, also known as beer street. Its a hot spot among the noise evening revellers the, the just to the so is one team lake the this time is about taking the train home the because not far from the lake is a noise main railway station. The ticket counter is in the main waiting hall tree and travel in vietnam is straightforward. We have tickets for the s t one at 1015. The saigon express number one, the yeah, the, the mother called and told me that though the vietnams rail network was built during the French Colonial period and has played a prominent role in the countrys history. Recounted to us by trends on bon one boss to come to the station. Hes a frequent traveler on this train. The railways are an important symbol for the 79 year old war veterans. The are trained the parts on time the, the, our journey will take us from north to south in this thing, coastal country and will last over 32 hours the, our route will take us right past the south china sea. The our journey will cross almost the entire length of vietnam around 1700 kilometers from handling to whole schumann city, previously known as psych on what our train well 1st take us pass or rather special kind of attraction don towel or Railway Street where when one wheeling runs one of the many cafe is lining the train, travelling made themselves restaurants here, used to use waiters who would hop across the tracks to serve customers. A perilous practice that is now prohibited that result because im, you know, you, so when you left the pharmacy, there are few, a trains now they used to come almost every hour. The schedule dictates my life and my child on there to provide example name example is that hes been seeing the trains hospitality for a to say call and when we he and theres no danger. Now we have that same of the tourist, so safe to that or if you dont because the cafe own is all responsible for damage from glad new because i keep not about that. Im foreigners. Okay. The thrill seeking torres are Good Business for land. The north south line was built to be the backbone of the country, which as our train driver 1000000 queen, queen notes also led to its repeated destruction to the real was again complete one year after the reunification of vietnam. The since the liberation of South Vietnam. And the reunification of the Country Trains have resumed from illinois to sy gone and brought citizens from both parts of the country closer together with each reunification express, we bring people from the north to the south and vice versa. The its a train that is a symbol and physical manifestation of the countries reunification. A train of National Reconciliation of a people once bitterly divided half a century later. Its a scenario thats hard to imagine. The train is a comfortable ride for nighttime travelers. And its quiet enough for us to visit trends on bon, hes compartment to join the communist viet cong forces based in the north of the country in 1967 the, the 9th. And really my uncle of my family received 4 notifications of my death of those 9 was 919681970197219745 redeem and almost 9991. That kid comes home, not just one, but 4 times like really . No more. 19 dumb, laid me high level 19. Come leave me the don. I can imagine it was a huge surprise for my family when i came home. So i knew like nothing about on monday. Yeah. Not the and i just been declared dead 4 times and still came back alive. Do you get a lot more than willing to the other lady told me . No. Not really. That was helpful. That mans mother had even built an altar for her son. It stood in her home for 8 years until bon returned home in 1976. He removed the altar himself. Bonn has since devoted his life to searching for the remains of fallen soldiers. The next morning we visit the vine law nature reserve near noon bed where we joined taylor knob. The german biologist came to vietnam in the early 19 nineties and has since dedicated his life to the conservation of a rare prime in the she found that the 1st Wildlife Sanctuary of its kind in the indo china region. In 1993. The sanctuary gives animals freed from poachers. A new home one of his primary focuses is della corps langers, a critically endangered species of monkey. I know the ask not feeling as well right at the start of like a gift from gaunt. We were able to see the 2 of these animals from poachers locking on from epic on 200 and the endangered Primate Rescue Center was born. Tilo was its director for 25 years. He and the local conservationist played a big part in ensuring that primate, like the dela course lingers, have survived into the new millennium. The aim as for the animals to one day, the return to the wild, the me a company too low as he makes his way to the john uh, unesco World Heritage site and to an island where the now 82 year old once released a number of them onto the lenders with white pants, as theyre also called have seen their numbers right back up to around 200. Thats to you. Its not dollars either. All right, me is of course to build up a viable population. So that kind of thing is going to take several decades, e mail that you all tend to be honest. Quote, as the bible population means between 500000 animals slice 1000 t on. And it takes a lot of time for a population of that size to build up for that. So and ill talk about the back aboard the reunification expressed a new day dawns and its breakfast time. The passengers are served in their seats. Coffee and the traditional morning suit, the almost 80 percent of the strategically Important Railway Line was destroyed during the vietnam war. Of the 1300. 00 or so bridges an estimated 1000. 00 were reduced to ruins. Although for tribes on the last of soldiers lives was far worse singly easy. But now we knew that a lot of us would end up dead. We dug graves for ourselves for each battle wed gather together and promised that after the liberation, the survivors would bring the bodies of the men who died back to their mothers checked all the last half hour. Ben took his 1st ever trip on the train in 1978. He dug up the remains of 34. 00 conrad and delivered their death certificates to their families. In person, the fighting was especially fierce in the province of quarantine. The 17th parallel roughly coincided with the border that had been drawn up between north and South Vietnam after the departure of French Colonial forces in 1954. The area would later be witness to some of the bloody as battles of the war with memorials now honoring the casualties. Such as this one in what was then North Vietnam. We follow ban on this bridge across the 10 long river, until 1975 part of the border between North Vietnam and the us back south. This monument commemorates the separation of families. The bones says the branch is a reconstruction of the original which was destroyed by an american air strike in 1972. He has long forgotten the border. He is originally from the north, but married a woman from the south where she now lives in his search for the remains of fallen. Soldiers continues to this day regardless of where they fought for a whole night. Boeing i dropped of it. I need not picture day, i cross these bridge, i mean, not as a soldier covered while thinking about the reconstruction of our country and how to heal the wounds caused by the war that couldnt get cold. So now you didnt even look at the lodge until you hit 9. Bon has commuted between the north and south of vietnam over 40 times on the re unification. Express the journey progresses. Further south, past the farms and fields that dominate the countries landscape. About 700 kilometers later, we arrive in the way, the way was the capital of vietnam during the wind dynasty, from 18 o 2 to 1945. 1 physical legacy of the period is the citadel. The police show residents of the royal family. Of course etiquette and ceremonial customs such as music and dance, were very important to the emperors. The year granted backstage access to the royal ballet of when the dancers are preparing for performance. The enemys court music dates back to the 13th century. What it was during the later and when dynasty that it reached its pinnacle with the music serving to demonstrate the emperors power and longevity, the one frequently performed dance as a new compound on the new cool want done is based on buddhist traditions. It senses on the custom of praying 6 times with each prayer accompanied by a symbolic offering to put in sudden flowers, the fruit food. Im loving ton, the dogs was late to expanded and would often be performed to mock the 1st day of the emperor his mother. And in this orchestra, the drum, please a pivotal part. The word music was seen as an expression of reverence towards the emperors and god like the music, like this one are now also performed at festival in 2003 vietnamese. Courtneys that was recognized by unesco as part of the intangible Cultural Heritage of humanity. Way lies on the long john or Perfume River and right next door is the dawn ball market. The market opened in 18. 99. 00 and the countless stalls here mostly run by women, hawk, all sorts of 2 sons as fresh as they come. The, the market attracts 7000 visitors daily, many of them on no pets. Its no time for us to return to the railway station, which also has a spacious waiting room the shortly before departure. The doors to the platform open. Tickets are digital, the lunch time is now approaching the when crying, he is happy to be filmed while he cut the. Hes been serving passengers on the re unification expressed for 10 years. His hobby traveling, of course, the content with his job the the work isnt terribly hard. I cook for an average of 100 to 120 people a day. The job earns be enough to support my family. Sometimes the meals are freshly prepared and delivered to passenger compartment. The conductor, my tongue is serving g also sees the re unification expressed as symbolic half hour and the way by and id be working for the round road for 17 years now. Working on the re unification. Express is really interesting because you get to meet people and see a lot of different places compared to other jobs. Its a real pleasure to walk. You know, we have don, call hi, in Central Vietnam is the next time i the, the at 17 meters mom. Its the largest fresh water lagoon in south east asia. The majority of people in vietnam do not adhere to one belief system. They tend to follow one or several folk religion or an amalgamation of classical fates the today, we will see the tapping out ceremony for this house to face with construction work basically complete the the ceremony is conducted by a monk. The, the, the ground floor will host a cafe. While the stories higher up are still being finished. The, i dont know why they didnt know that now. And then ill be in the muse custom to celebrate a new building being constructed. The prayers are for our ancestors. While for monday, the ceremony is to bring good luck to the owner to drive away evil and protect against unemployment. Its a really old vietnamese custom high line. Distributing money is also part of the ceremony. A while and i high before the earthly well is consigned to a fire and offering to those in the after life the the most spectacular section of our journey aboard the reunification express is now beginning the train passes beneath the del hives on the ocean cloud past the, [000 00 00;00] the trains have to set off from late at night to allow passengers to appreciate this stretch. During daylight, the many passengers take the train just because of the breathtaking view. The going by train is safe and cheaper than by call. Last, i wanted to see the scenery that the account passed. I am going to have the i bought the push along shan mountains, constitute a kind of meteor, a logical border between north and South Vietnam. A top torres destination and paradise for bikers. The ocean cloud path rises almost 500 meters from sea level the the we reach our next stop, a few kilometers from the top of the past. The don on is a terminus station. So the engine has to be coupled onto the other end of the train, the which gives us a brief opportunity to look around. The coastal city with a population of around amelia downtown is fame towards beaches. The 1st, the us combat troops landed nearby during the vietnam war. The, the americans set up a vital error base and on which subsequently grew to become one of the biggest cities in South Vietnam the a few kilometers further south. We visit jolla on the old town enjoy the rear feet of not being destroyed during the vietnam war. And today, both moscow World Heritage status. Before our trained journey continues, weve arranged to meet someone outside town out on the tube on river new tries to attract fish by hitting an or against his boat. Hes always lived here and has mastered the art of coaxing his prey towards his round basket boat. The mad at all music, the beautiful maid. How are you to that team told me to go to day and no say to i was 9 when i learned how to swim and ive been working on the water ever since. I have them made up a black. Oh yeah, ive never done anything else though. It doesnt come with them. When i go out in this round boat and every day i manage to catch a few key loads of fish. When i have a name was up and came to the book on today as im unfortunately an exception for the 62 year old. The perhaps tomorrows hall will be better of the we then return to the station and down up the the unification. Express sets off once again in the afternoon since the narrow tracks were built by the french, the train is often called the t g. V. After the same as high speed french train around a quarter of the 1300 bridges are in need of renovation. The night to send early and swiftly in vietnam, we now get ready for our 2nd night aboard the train passengers used to be able to take a little detour here up to the lot at an altitude, almost 1500 meters. This delightful little station was built by the french in 1938 with touches of art deco style. The railway was attacked by the viet calling during the vietnam war. The route was discontinued in 1968, a short torres service was later introduced. Featuring this scheme, locomotive, the meat and window to behind the station. He was a driver during the war. Second slater in the early 19 ninetys. He drove the called Railway Train and remained at the controls right up to attend the night. Oh my look, quit google, not doing them. I was the last id mentioned driver for the old railway and i dont, i was really sad when i had to stop in 2016. The trees on the like the new to was i dont like that. No local motive was my place of work and i have very fond memories of it to all. I mean, it feels like an old friend. I really miss it. Im working a lot. And then i knew that the temperate climate was one reason why the french founded the town of the building, a range of hotels and other buildings. The railway reached the lot in 1932, which was eventually dog, little paris. The city is now home to over 200000 people. The then take a different kind of trip with the easy riders motorcycle club. The members have been hitting the road together in the area around the lot for over a quarter of a century. There i generate includes multi day tours and day trips for the club was not originally founded for the sheer joy of motorcycling. It was more out of necessity with members turning a hobby into an occupation, a 73 year old palm. Explain the new things on google. Yeah. Go to the number, so let me know and just somebody belong. After reunification, older people have difficulty finding a job. But no, dont disney movie a new wise man. We started showing foreign visitors around the area really uh, newly uh, english wasnt commonly spoken back then and then well in, but a lot of our members could turn in. Uh, they were teachers, professors or Army Officers. But we also are just talking to you got a new the c one with january and after a short ride, they show us a popular local attraction. The area around a lot is known for its waterfall and we visit o