North to South

Woke up this morning at 7 AM ready for our 8 AM departure from Hue. We were told it was about a 3 1/2 hour bus ride along to Danang. Our bus was quite lovely and so we settled in for the ride – of course we departed during rush hour, so we got to see the traffic in Hue- not quite as bad as Hanoi but still so many scooters. It is incredible what everybody can carry on a scooter entire families, groceries, pipes- entire hardware stores, you name it, it is transported on a scooter! We started our drive out of the city and into the countryside before long we were stopping at a pearl farm just before the mountain pass.
We had a coffee break we are still trying to find a really good coffee in this country. They are the second biggest producer of coffee in the world and do know how to make a great coffee, but unfortunately they like their coffee sweetened with condensed milk so you have to be very specific about asking for American coffee, then you tend to get espresso! Really just want a strong black coffee that I can add my own milk to – still on the hunt even though there are so many coffee shops I’ve got to be able to find the right one!

There were lots of pearls for sale in the gift store here and Carly and Michelle managed to buy a pair for around $20 which seemed like a good deal and the seller put a lighter under them so they could see they weren’t plastic! Back on the bus and off through the mountains until we reached the peak of the pass.

The Hải Vân Pass crosses over a spur of the Trường Sơn Range that emerges from the west and juts into the South China Sea, forming the Hải Vân Peninsula and the adjoining Son Tra Island. The pass, which once formed the boundary between the kingdoms of Đại Việt and Champa, also forms a boundary between the climates of northern and southern Vietnam, sheltering the city of Da Nang from the “Chinese winds” that blow in from the northwest. During the winter months (November–March), for instance, weather on the north side of the pass might be wet and cold, while the south side might be warm and dry. The pass is renowned for its scenic beauty.

There are also a few military bunkers at the peak of the pass. The big concrete bunker is an American banker from the Vietnam war and then a smaller French bunker in front which is made of brick we managed to climb up and have a great view although everybody seem to be doing that too. We also went into the bunkers to see the view from the inside. From here you have a bird’s eye view of the bay and the South China Sea. You can pass but through a tunnel, but you will miss a lot of this beautiful scenery. There was even a bride and groom precariously perched on one of the battlements overlooking the water – great view but risky for a photograph. Then we were down the other side and on our way to Danang. We stopped at what was called China Beach apparently a favourite spot up GI’s during the war. They were so many fishing boats in the water it was quite pretty but not necessarily my idea of a beautiful beach? We also made a quick stop at a marble factory in view of marble Mountain – we didn’t go up marble Mountain but apparently all of the marble used to be mined from there until the government decided to put a stop to it now all the marble factories are still in Danang, but all of the marble has to be shipped in for these families to make their precious carvings. Before long we were in Hoi An and on route to our hotel the Pearl River Inn overlooking the Thu Bon River. The driveway for the hotel was too small so we had to get out and walk down while our luggage was accompanied on electric scooter. The hotel has a view overlooking the water which is a little bit brown and muddy and not necessarily beautiful but quite a picturesque area. We checked in and dropped our bags off and decided to walk into town as it was a past lunchtime and we were all quite hungry. Tamtam had told us about a restaurant along the way halfway into town that was supposed to be good – we couldn’t seem to find it but stopped at a local restaurant that was serving Western and Vietnamese lunch. We all grabbed a quick meal maybe not the best meal but it was a meal and then continued on into Hoi An. Oh what a beautiful town you are. We started off at the market ambling around the stalls – far less chaotic than Hanoi and we way way prettier. All kinds of beautiful fruits and vegetables and fish and meat for sale and seemingly not quite as disgusting as some of the markets we had seen in Hanoi. All of the shops were also quite lovely selling everything from silk scarves, leather goods, handmade clothes, lanterns and various other beautiful items. After a few hours of wandering around we headed back to the hotel this is about a 1.5 km walk! We had a little bit of a break in the hotel and then headed back into town. As we got into town we noticed the entire old town was being lit up by stunning lanterns. Lanterns everywhere big ones, small ones, round ones, long ones all shapes and all the colours you can imagine! We were in search of Hui Café for dinner we had got the recommendation that this was a good place to eat and quickly found the spot- we had a table overlooking the street and as we wanted to watch the city go by. We had quite a lovely dinner. Traditional dinner that was very very well done. After dinner we wandered over the bridge into what was called the night market area so many bright lights and lanterns it was all quite overwhelming we wandered around a bit more and then decided we were really tired and walked up past the old town, as you can’t catch a cab in town- no motorized vehicles are allowed after 6pm. We found a cab that would take all eight of us back to the hotel for a two dollar fee! We headed back to the hotel to turn in for the night what a beautiful town this is – so glad we decided to stop here for a few days.