Vietnam forum

Hard sleepers also have three-tiers if I remember correctly.
It would be impossible for a Westerner to get in the top bunk never mind sleep in it. I think I was told they don't allocate them to tall people (i.e. from the West.) It might be worth checking.
If there was one thing I hated in Vietnam it was sitting on the plastic child-size seats.This is the sleeping equivalent.

Depends on what line you are on in China - going through the Gobi the trains are still pretty ratty. Most of the trains in the eastern provinces are nice so long as you book high-speed or express - most travelers would not want to travel K and T class.

I was bumped up to the Livitran (Hanoi-Hue) last year in February but wasn't much impressed - they have a nice classic train look about them, but the setup had nothing on the modern Chinese rails. Perhaps the whole train was made up of old cars though.

Main question - hard sleeper does not mean no mattress. I've traveled hard-sleeper a lot in China and the only time I advice against it is if you're on a trip that breaks the 10 hour mark, at which point I enjoy having a little more privacy that is offered by the 4 berth cabin (soft sleepers).

Posted from within Vietnam.

Hi dnev101,

The difference between hard sleeper and soft sleeper is the hard sleeper has no matress whereas the soft sleeper has a matress. So the hard sleeper is like sleeping on a wooden plank. I did the Nha Trang to Da Nang trip last night on the hard sleeper. After about half an hour, I did get a really goodnight sleep but I am used to roughing it.
The other difference is that there are 6 bunks verses 4 in the soft sleeper. The topbunk is accessable but you will need to be a good climber, but not impossible.
I am 180cm tall and fit quite comfortably, but any taller and you may need to bend a little in the middle.
Enjoy the ride.

Tumbleweed

I travelled in a hard sleeper last week, there was no mattress, repeat: no mattress! Unless you think a 2 milimeter thick woven bamboo mat is a mattress (its not, seriously) A thin doona and pillow were provided. I found it alright, actually. I rolled myself in the doona like a cocoon and the Vietnamese lady 35cm's across from me on the other stack of three sleeping shelves reached over and tucked me in... it was cold! Six people in a confined space made the temperature okay after a while. But if you have even a hint of a back or neck problem, don't do it. My cabin did have a door, however it was frequently opened by staff. Seems that there are quite a few different versions of the hard sleeper!