Rach told me that since this is “my kind of people’s” continent and it’s about time I write one of our trip updates. Just kidding! You all know that Rachie would never say something like that but this is Alex writing the update.
Even though we had a quick turn around and only stayed in Hue for three nights, we’ve had a couple of awesome experiences in the last few days. The city we stayed in, Hue, is pronounced ‘WHEY’. I don’t know how to phonetically write this but you really have to emphasize the ‘WH’. It’s on the Central Coast of Vietnam and near the old border that separated North and South Vietnam. For transportation from Hoi An to Hue (78 miles) we decided to book a motorbike tour that Jedd and Michelle told us about when we met them in Castegnato Carducci, Italy. And we have to thank them because we had an awesome experience! A motorbike tour is just what it sounds like, we rode on the back of two motorcycles all the way to Hue with our backpacks tied in.
Around 9 AM we got picked up from our hostel by two Vietnamese guys named Chau (CHOW) and Rin (REEN). Chau spoke better English than Rin. They strapped in our backpacks, gave us a quick rundown of the day’s itinerary, gave us a helmet, and then told us to hop on. I loved it, no waiver needed to be signed, no BS and we were on the road within ten minutes. Before we got on Rach asked where we grab on, Chau responded “I think after five minutes you’ll feel relaxed and won’t need to hold on.” I have to confess, I was a bit nervous too. I had never really been on a motorcycle (even with Brandon’s relentless attempts for me to ride his). But soon after we started, the thrill kicked in and the butterflies went away. We had a blast feeling the wind in our face and taking in the countryside on the back of the bikes. We made stops about every 30-45 minutes which broke up the drive well, not too much continuous time on the bike and not stopping every other turn.
Here is a summary of the motorbike trip:
- 9:40, we stop at Marble Mountain. Exactly what it sounds like, a mountain made of marble that Buddhist monks settled on and built three tiers into the mountain. A cave in the bottom to represent hell. The middle to represent a lush, green earth. And the topmost point to represent heaven. This place was flooded with Korean and Chinese tourists and we didn’t enjoy it that much. The view from the top was just ok and the caves were underwhelming.
- 10:50, we stop at the north end of Da Nang beach. The beach was nice and sandy. Beach resorts lined the shoreline as we rode by.
- 11:00-11:45, we start the climb up the Hai Van pass. We were lucky to get a sunny day in December and as we rode up the Hai Van pass we made a few stops to take in some amazing views of undeveloped shoreline. This part of the trip definitely reminded us of Hawaii, specifically the Road to Hana on Maui. There was lush, green jungle on one side and views of the ocean on the other. Here we stopped at a place called The View and they treated Rach and I to iced coffees as we took in the view.
- 12:10, we reached the top of the Hai Van pass. There was a US bunker from the war at the top of the pass here but it wasn’t anything special. It got cloudy at the top of the mountain and the sun didn’t come out much for the rest of the trip.
- 1:00, we stop for lunch at a restaurant on the shore of some beach (I don’t know what it’s called). I got seafood fried rice and Rach got some weird chicken dish that she didn’t really eat. Lunch was not included in the price of the motorbike tour.
- 2:15, we stop at Elephant Springs. This place was hidden in a random part of the jungle and a natural pool of river runoff water forms. The water was really nice and clear. A perfect place for a swim in the summer but during the winter it’s a little cold.
- 3:30, our last main stop at some fishing village right of the road. We got a little tidbit on the local fishers here and then we had a photo session with the bikes. Chau always offered to take pictures of us at each stop which was nice.
- 4:30, we stopped at a coffee house called ‘She’s’ in Hue and had another delicious iced coffee. They dropped us off at our hotel at 4:45.
Overall, it was a long, tiring day of travel but it was an awesome experience. We got to see some amazing views and it was a great way to see the countryside. We highly recommend a motorbike tour to anyone visiting the Central Coast of Vietnam! The tour cost us $45 per person. Which if you consider the amount of time of theirs it takes, it’s not that much at all! While we were on the bikes I wasn’t that comfortable being over 6 feet tall, but I also didn’t feel that squished. This was until we looked back at footage from the day and I look like a giant on the back of the bike. I mean look at the picture below, it looks like the scene from Dumb and Dumber where they’re on the tiny moped. I look a foot taller than Rin.
We also saw one of the saddest things as we were on the tour. After we got off the bikes at the top of the Hai Van pass a truck drove past us that was carrying at least a hundred dogs, maybe more. The truck bed had two levels with barred cages and all of the dogs were squished into each other, howling and barking. It was horrifying and it left Rach and I speechless. We have an abnormal love for dogs and to see the looks on their faces was terrible. And yes, the truck was heading to exactly where you hope it wasn’t. They do eat dogs in Vietnam and Chau told Rach that the truck was heading from the South to the North (dog meat is more common in the North). Before rushing to any judgements I think it’s important to learn about the culture and where it originates from. I’ll also point out that Rach and I have been here for two weeks and have never seen dog meat on any menus (not that we made a point of seeking it out and we’ve been in the South). We’ve seen countless dogs here and many people have them as pets. So I think it’s important to note that not all people here eat dog (most probably don’t). Vietnam has been ripped apart by a few different wars, all within the last 60 or so years. Millions of people have died and many starved. During tough times people ate whatever they could and this included dogs. Even with that level of understanding, it doesn’t make it any better and I’ll never forget the moment when that truck passed by us.
Back to happiness. Our stay in Hue was short, but nice. The hotel/hostel (they’re sort of one and the same here, hotels or the budget hotels we stay at have dorm rooms as well as private rooms) was nice and the girls that worked the front desk were the friendliest that we’ve encountered thus far. They always offered us coffee, tea, snacks and were helpful in booking buses and tours. Our first day here we spent walking the city. We paid an entrance fee to get in to the Imperial City. There is a heavy Chinese influence in Vietnam and Hue used to be the Imperial capital of Vietnam. The Vietnamese Emperors lived in the palaces within the walls from 1800 to the mid-1900s. While the Imperial City wasn’t the most incredible place we’ve ever seen, the Chinese architecture was unique and different. As we walked the streets here we missed Hoi An because the streets here are more similar to Saigon in that there aren’t many sidewalks. Pedestrians get mixed in with all the moped traffic and it’s not pleasant to walk around.
Our last full day here we hired a private car to take us the DMZ area at the old border of North and South Vietnam. Our driver didn’t speak any English (we used Google Translate to communicate with him) but he was very friendly. The highlight of this day trip was our visit to the Vinh Moc tunnels. The villages around the DMZ area of Vietnam were heavily affected by US bombing during the war. To take shelter (and also to hide North Vietnamese soldiers) the local people started to dig trenches, tunnels and eventually moved entire villages underground. This happened all across Vietnam but the Vinh Moc tunnels are still very intact so they’re an attraction. We didn’t hire a tour guide and just decided to explore ourselves. There are thirteen entrances to the tunnels and we initially got a little lost, we went into an entrance that was flooded. But we were able to find the main tourist entrance and went down into the tunnels. It was dark (although there were lights), hot and I couldn’t stand straight up as we made our way through them. Tunnels forked off in different directions and we were lucky that we could hear a guided tour group in front of us so we sort of followed them. Being down in the tunnels was awesome and terrifying at the same time. I don’t consider myself claustrophobic, but being hunched over in these dark, damp tunnels made me a bit anxious. It fascinated me how people were able to build these tunnels and that they’re not collapsed or completely flooded now. How families lived down there blows my mind. I’ve seen different statistics, but at the tunnel site they said that 60 babies were born in the tunnels! I highly suggest a quick read about the tunnels, they’re pretty amazing. If you take a look at the map of the tunnels, Rach and I went in through entrance 3 (on the right of the map), made our way to entrance 4, and exited through entrance 5. A pretty small journey through the tunnels if you consider the full length of them. We were down in the tunnels for maybe thirty minutes but that was enough for me. There aren’t many Vietnamese people over six feet tall so maybe being shorter helps, but I’m not sure I could describe the tunnels as comfortable for anyone, regardless of their height.
Our time in Hue has been short and while it isn’t our favorite city, we had some cool experiences. We also ate dinner at the same restaurant all three nights here. Oops. Boring and unadventurous? Yes. Do we regret it? Nah. Their food was delicious. We’ve also noticed here that if you leave some food uneaten on your plate, they’ll always ask you why you didn’t eat it and if something was wrong. It’s a little awkward but I think they genuinely want you to enjoy the food they make for you and make sure something wasn’t wrong. We’ve ordered some dishes here that turned out to be different than what we expected. Rach has definitely pulled the “Oh I’m just so full” line.
From here we head north to Phong Nha!