just since late february coming up next on dw, a documentary, taking a train ship through vietnam and what's been coughing, re unification, express, that's next. i'll be back at the top of the good. the name is the calls back. said loud. thank you so much for joining. welcome to don't hold bad. a lot of people do that. it's all about saying it aloud. as would it be nosy, bailey good. everyone to king. the healthy award winning called called the called back, the people i love it. every time i go to train and start watching

the, it's 6 am in hanoi, the vietnamese capital, the times with a daily flag raising on ogden square. the

national anthem, place, and war veteran attend the ceremony. the, the protracted war between what was the north and south vietnam and the subsequent unification of the country. deeply ingrained in the memories of the vietnamese equals on this now historic square that revolutionary communist liter hope she meant proclaimed the 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 highways, old 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 isn't increasingly dangerous profession when tom long has overseen this crossing for 12 years the he works 12 hour shift in a job with lot of responsibility. the

human reliability. right? so we don't sell it 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 or the yeah, i was almost 30 when i started working here and i'd had a range of different jobs before that. yeah. working here is my fake. what is the allow me to move ahead and i'm the longs 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 farm. 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 with my job to use the pulse of land and build a house for us to the railway. had no objection. and we're still here today. i'm 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 birds and walk the short distance along the tracks back home the it's now time for lunch with his wife. his children and his mother after sundown, there's a hardy, a range of food available in henry's old town. and that means cuisine is extremely varied. especially here on tie, un street, also known as beer street. it's a hot spot among the noise evening revellers,

the the just to the so is one team lake the . 2 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 thing to go the call and told me that though to vietnam's rail network was built during the french colonial period and has played a prominent role in the country's history. recounted to us by trends on barn one to come to the station. he's 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 hope. schumann city previously known as sight gone. but our train, we'll 1st take us past 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 a gonzalez, restaurants here used to use waiters who would hop across the tracks to serve

customers. a perilous practice that is now prohibited. that was on the phone with us. um 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 is going to provide example name example is or if he's been seeing the trains hospitality for a to say call and when we he and there's no danger. now we have the same of the tourist, so safe to that or if you don't because because they own those are responsible for damage from quantity of a particular lot about i'm 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, knowing in queen, queen knows all so much with repeated destruction. the room 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 hanoi 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 it's 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. it's a scenario that's hard to imagine. the train is a comfortable ride for nighttime travelers. and it's quiet enough for us to visit trends on bon, he's compartment to join the communist viet cong forces based in the north of the country in 1967 the the 9th and really my glove. my family received 4 notifications of my death. of those 9191968197019721974. by redeem almost 999. 1 that came comes hold on just one but 4 times like really normal. 19 dumb, laid me high level that could come lead me to non i can imagine it was a huge surprise for my family. when i came home, the new light,

nothing on monday the it just been declared dead 4 times and still came back alive. you got a lot more than the other lady. no, but not least, that was helpful. that man's mother had even built an altar for her son. it stood in her home for 8 years until bon returned home in 1976. she removed the altar himself. bon has since devoted his life to searching for the remains of fallen soldiers the next morning we visit the fine long nature reserve near noon bed. where we joined taylor knob. the german biologist came to vietnam in the early 1990

and has since dedicated his life to the conservation of a rare prime in the you found at 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 primaries focuses is della corps langers, a critically endangered species of monkey? i know the ask not suing as well. right at the start of like a gift from gaunt. we were able to see the 2 of these animals from poachers lock known from either gone to a 100 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 dell, of course, lingers, have survived into the new millennium. the aim is for the animals to one day be returned to the wild, the 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 they're also called have seen their numbers right back up to around 200. that's to you. it's not dollars. i know. 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 about, unquote, as a new, a viable population means between 500000 dynamo slice 1000 t on. and it takes

a lot of time for a population of that size to build up for that. so and i'll talk about the back aboard the reunification expressed a new day dawns and it's 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 by the law of soldiers lives was far worse singly choosing. now, we knew that a lot of us would end up dead. we dug graves for ourselves. for each battle, we'd gather together and promised that after the liberation the survivors would bring the bodies of the men who died back to their mother's checked all the last half hour. ben took his 1st ever trip on the train. in 1978. he dug up the remains of 34 conrad and delivered their death certificates to their families in person. the fighting was especially fierce in the province of crunchy. 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 as the bridge is a reconstruction of the original which was destroyed by an american air strike in 1972. he has long forgotten the border. he has originally from the north, a married 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 the whole night. so when i dropped of a need like picture day, i cross these bridge, i mean, not as a soldier, what well thinking about the reconstruction of our country and how to heal the wounds caused by the war that didn't get the night. they need even more than that, but 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 enemy's 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 emperor's power and longevity. the one frequently performed dance is a new comb pond on the new cool. one 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. i'm tongue, the dogs was lace 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. 3 the

music was seen as an expression of reverence towards the emperor's and god like the appearances like this one are now also performed at festival. in 2003 vietnamese, courtney's day was recognized by unesco. as part of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity. way lies on the long tongue 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 mo, pets is 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 . he's been serving passengers on the reunification express for 10 years. his hobby traveling, of course, the

content with his job the the work isn't 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 to the conductor. my tongue is serving g also sees the re unification expressed as symbolic of our way by and i'd be working for the

round road for 17. he is 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. it's a real pleasure to walk. you know, we have done call hi in central vietnam is the next highlight. the, the at 70 meters mom. it's the largest fresh water lagoon in southeast 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. 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 the cafe. while the stories higher up are still being finished. the, i don't know. i'm the i'm and now it's 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. it's 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 hi yvonne the ocean cloud passed the the trains have to set off from late at night to allow passengers to appreciate this stretched during daylight. the

many passengers take the train just because of the breathtaking view. the going by train is safe and cheaper than by car. last, i wanted to see the scenery that the account i, i wouldn't have gotten the i have on the push along shan mountains constitute a kind of media or a logical border between north and south vietnam. a top tourist 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 a 1000000 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 train journey continues,

we've arranged to meet someone outside town out on the tube on river, who tries to attract fish by hitting an or against his boat. he's always lived here and has mastered the art of coaxing his prey towards his round basket boat. the mad arrow music, i really don't a beautiful maid. how does that game? don't think that i and no say to i was 9 when i learned how to swim. and i've been working on the water ever since a have them made up a black. oh yeah, i've never done anything else so it doesn't come with i 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 label that came to me and i'm booked on today as i'm fortunately an exception for the 62 year old

the perhaps tomorrow's hall will be better of the eventually turned to the station and down. um the the reunification express that's off once again in the afternoon. 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 descends 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 via con, during the vietnam war. the route was discontinued in 1968, a short torres service was liter introduce featuring distinct local notice the we meet and when due to behind the station, he was a driver during the war. ducking slater in the early 19 ninety's. he drove the called railway train and remained at the controls right up to attend the night. oh my look quickly. well, not in billing set them. i was the last id mentioned driver for the old railway and i don't, i was really sad when i had to stop in 2016. the trees on the like the new to was i don't lie and the local motive was my place of work. and i have very fond memories of a tool. i mean when it feels like an old friend, i really miss it. i'm working with

a lot and then i knew it. the temperate climate was one reason why the french founded the town of the building, a range of hotels and other buildings. the railway reach, still not 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 motorcycle. and it was more out of necessity with members turning a hobby into an occupation as 73 year old homes. explain the new things on google.

yeah. go to the number. so number 1, december 11th. after reunification, older people have difficulty finding a job. but note on disney movies, i knew why weren't my band. we started showing foreign visitors around the area. really newly english wasn't commonly spoken back then and then went in, but a lot of our members could join in. uh they were teachers, professors or army officers. but we also are you talking to you got a new key um, so you can go january after a short ride, they show us the popular local attraction. the area around the lot is known for its waterfall and we visit one in number is named after supposedly elephant like rock at the water's edge. although we were unable to spot it

30 meters high, it's one of the most frequently visited water falls in the area, the near. now back on board, the re unification express where the final leg and our journey meet, early hours. just a few kilometers to go until we reach coach. human city are 2nd morning on the train. the wind t hi is old enough to remember when it wasn't possible to take the train from north to south. boy, it's great to see our country unified whenever i take this train now i no longer notice any differences between the north himself. that's why i love writing on this train of thought that it's

6 30 am as we pull into hope, she meant city station. the or the, the re unification express arrives just 20 minutes behind schedule. despite having traveled 1700 kilometers, the train is not only a symbol of the countries unity. it's also brought people from the to one hostile parts of the country a little bit closer, while making a small contribution to the reconciliation of north and south vietnam. the steiger on signs still adorns the station. people haven't necessarily gotten used to the new name. pushing in city the central post office and its barrel vaulted main hall are yet another reminder of the french colonial period.

a portrait of the communist leader, which he meant towers over the hall side on, was renamed after him in 1976, following the defeat of south vietnam. amid the hustle and bustle of vietnam's biggest city with 9000000 inhabitants, people often seek refuge from the daily grind by visiting a toyota, we did to accompany new n t k. yet, as she goes inside the body and how to go to, she likes incense to mark the start of her visit the

after prayers. the 47 year old buys a piece of paper where she writes down her name and her wishes. and she then hands over the note which is hung up on a spiral ornament. confident that her prayers will be answered. all of this is part of the ceremony in which prayers do not just focus on the wellbeing of the individual and their loved ones. but not too much at the time the night is that and you maintain a minimum, every one in my family is healthy, but i still go to the pagoda to pray for a peaceful life. and for korea successful, i have a couple of college jobs. in addition to my main profession, paid into some of the past, and i want to move to go well. so i want my children to do well at school. i just

pray for everything to be. all right, well let's go with the cost of ok. after the ceremony, pagan by some song, birds which show release again shortly afterwards. the another ritual that's part of visiting the pagoda. setting the birds free as an offering, and just the post to create positive thoughts. deliberate ration of the animals is also meant to generate good karma, the an endearing custom, to round up our in lightning journey across vietnam. the,

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project, cassandra, re the term and through our investigation that has below was operating like a global drug court. not somebody normally seizures organizations, the object to financially drain has gone out and bring them down to the team. agents from the american drug enforcement agency. i mean, as well as another whole lot. they wanted to go after their money. they had from lies themselves. we needed them to reveal that so world and to their own people wanted the us government suddenly shut down project cassandra in 2016. 03 pod document 3 series. i'm asking has paula stats may 4th on d, w. the,

the this is the, the news a lie from validate nato debates, a 100000000000 euros in funding for ukraine alliance. foreign ministers meeting brussels to show our long term support the caves. so it's less dependent on the united states. also on the program 9 dad hundreds injured as if possible, but quite rocks. taiwan press to cruise search for survivors. after the break is quite for 25 years checks the island toppling buildings and knocking off house the .