I am in Hue and it is early in the morning when I wake up. I am going to Hoi An today. What I don't know yet, but will discover soon, it will be a hell of a ride.
I make a mental note that I have to return to Hue next time I visit Vietnam, because I didn't see anything of the city. I spent the first evening around the hotel, I went to the DMZ the second day and the plan for yesterday was to stroll around town and visit the local sights. But, the day in the DMZ was too tiresome, so I felt tired yesterday and took a holiday from my holiday, as the Dutch guy I met in the mountains around Sa Pa would say.
I woke up in the morning felling dead tired, went downstairs to have breakfast, stepped outside for a bit, the blasting sun and heat knocked me over, so I went upstairs to my room again and back to bed. It was early afternoon when I woke up still feeling tired and a bit disappointed with myself, that I missed the opportunity to see this place. Since most of the sights I wanted to visit were either shut by then or would close by the time I had a shower and were ready to go, I gave it a miss and sat in the bath tub for a long time.
After that, I felt the need of doing something sporty, so I contacted Christian, a German pilates instructor who lives in Mallorca and I asked if we could have a class online. Luckily he was available and we did an hour of pilates. Since I don't have a yoga mat with me, I put the blankets on the floor and used them as a mat.
Click here for more info on his pilates classes and other services he offers.
I felt much better afterwards and was hungry as hell. So I went downstairs and asked the lady at reception if she knows a place I could go. Of course she knew and gave me directions.
I had breakfast today, packed my stuff and here I am, waiting in the lobby to be picked up by somebody and be driven to Hoi An. Originally, I wanted to go by train or by one of those sleeper buses, but the receptionist suggested I go by minibus, because it makes some stops at some nice places on the way.
A young guy appears at the agreed time, we nod at each other and I follow him through the alley to the minibus. There are two people on the bus and we drive a bit around to collect the remaining ones.
Once we are complete, the driver drives out of the small streets onto a main road that should lead us to the motorway.
What I have in mind is this: Since the motorways in this country are not like the motorways in our countries, but rather something like British A roads, I thought that we would stop at some places along the motorway and arrive in Hoi An within a reasonable travel time.
Oh, how wrong I am!
The road we are on, leads indeed to the motorway, but the driver makes a left turn shortly before we reach the motorway and drives on a narrow and bumpy road amid the rice fields. WHAT?????
A few minutes on this bumpy road later, we arrive at the market town Huong Thuy. The bus stops a bit outside the town and the guide leads us to the market and an old bridge.
After half an hour or so, the guide gathers us and we walk back to the minibus. We continue our ride through the rice fields and on narrow bumpy roads.
This is the time I ask my fellow travellers if they have any info about the tour. It turns out that nobody knows exactly how many stops there will be, how long it will take and whether we will have lunch on the way.
We get to know each other and find out that we are quite international. The two guys in front are Turks, the blonde lady with the glasses and the man in the back are Germans and the young lady behind me is Dutch. There are two more on the bus, who sit right behind the driver and are from Australia.
Some endless hours later on bumpy, but wider roads, we drive up some mountains and arrive at this tower that was built by the French and is now a ruin. It turns out to be a very popular sight, because many buses stop here, there are many shops underneath and hordes of tourists go up to the tower.
The GPS says that we are in the Da Nang area.
And off we are again. But we stop at a village nearby and the guide gets off and goes to a small place and returns with Banh Mi, the traditional sandwiches, for everyone. By now I don't mind the bumpy roads and slow ride, as I have much fun with the fellow travellers. I actually don't care what time we will arrive. The guide tells us that there is one more sight to visit, but the Australian couple who booked a hotel in Da Nang won't be able to visit this sight, as we will drop them off beforehand. So we drive to an area of Da Nang, drop them off and drive then to the Marble Mountains.
In the meantime I feel that my Xiaomi wristband is vibrating and fire up the app on my phone. What do I see? The Mi Band misinterprets the bumps as steps and has been counting since we got on those dodgy roads. I can see how it counts steps while the minibus is driving over potholes. Fascinating!
Marble Mountains
An hour or so later, we gather at one of the entrances and wait for the guide and the bus. Apparently it is another half an hour until Hoi An. I feel sad that this ride is coming to an end, because I am having much fun. I ask the others where they will be staying and find out that the German couple has booked a room in the same hotel as me. The young Dutch lady will stay at a youth hostel and the Turks in one of the five star hotels. The Turks live in Germany and are computer scientists and speak very well German. One of them grew up in Stuttgart and even speaks in local dialect. The other moved to Germany a few years ago and is still learning the language. He speaks English at work, that's why his English is much better than his German.
When we arrive in Hoi An, we slowly say goodbye to each other. The guide stops on one of the main roads and asks me and the two Germans to get off. He explains that our hotel is in an area the bus can't drive in and that it is only a short walk from here.
Hmm... I fire up the maps app and find out that it is not that close as he says and that there is a road to the hotel the bus could take. Anyway, I am not going to argue with him. As it starts to rain and my suitcase has only three wheels (the fourth lost the battle against the tarmac in Hanoi a few weeks ago), I refuse to walk and want to take a taxi. I ask the Germans if they want to join and offer to pay for the ride. They hesitate initially, but as it rain more and more, they agree and we flag down a cab.
We arrive at the hotel a few minutes lates and some members of staff come to open the doors and take our luggage. We go to the reception and present our passports. This causes great confusion, because the receptionists believe that the three of us are together and say that they have no room for us. It takes a bit of time to clarify that we got here together, but we are not together and that we want two rooms. After this is clear, a member of staff takes the keys and asks us to follow him. Even though our rooms are next to each other, we won't cross paths again.
I booked a room in the Acacia Heritage Hotel for a few days. Even though it says 414, it is on the third floor.
I make a mental note that I have to return to Hue next time I visit Vietnam, because I didn't see anything of the city. I spent the first evening around the hotel, I went to the DMZ the second day and the plan for yesterday was to stroll around town and visit the local sights. But, the day in the DMZ was too tiresome, so I felt tired yesterday and took a holiday from my holiday, as the Dutch guy I met in the mountains around Sa Pa would say.
I woke up in the morning felling dead tired, went downstairs to have breakfast, stepped outside for a bit, the blasting sun and heat knocked me over, so I went upstairs to my room again and back to bed. It was early afternoon when I woke up still feeling tired and a bit disappointed with myself, that I missed the opportunity to see this place. Since most of the sights I wanted to visit were either shut by then or would close by the time I had a shower and were ready to go, I gave it a miss and sat in the bath tub for a long time.
After that, I felt the need of doing something sporty, so I contacted Christian, a German pilates instructor who lives in Mallorca and I asked if we could have a class online. Luckily he was available and we did an hour of pilates. Since I don't have a yoga mat with me, I put the blankets on the floor and used them as a mat.
Click here for more info on his pilates classes and other services he offers.
I felt much better afterwards and was hungry as hell. So I went downstairs and asked the lady at reception if she knows a place I could go. Of course she knew and gave me directions.
I had breakfast today, packed my stuff and here I am, waiting in the lobby to be picked up by somebody and be driven to Hoi An. Originally, I wanted to go by train or by one of those sleeper buses, but the receptionist suggested I go by minibus, because it makes some stops at some nice places on the way.
A young guy appears at the agreed time, we nod at each other and I follow him through the alley to the minibus. There are two people on the bus and we drive a bit around to collect the remaining ones.
And we are rollin' rollin' rollin'
Our guide for today
What I have in mind is this: Since the motorways in this country are not like the motorways in our countries, but rather something like British A roads, I thought that we would stop at some places along the motorway and arrive in Hoi An within a reasonable travel time.
Oh, how wrong I am!
The road we are on, leads indeed to the motorway, but the driver makes a left turn shortly before we reach the motorway and drives on a narrow and bumpy road amid the rice fields. WHAT?????
Rice fields
Heavy traffic
Rice fields
We get to know each other and find out that we are quite international. The two guys in front are Turks, the blonde lady with the glasses and the man in the back are Germans and the young lady behind me is Dutch. There are two more on the bus, who sit right behind the driver and are from Australia.
The GPS says that we are in H. Phu Loc.
The GPS says that we are in the Da Nang area.
Unloading hordes of tourists
In the meantime I feel that my Xiaomi wristband is vibrating and fire up the app on my phone. What do I see? The Mi Band misinterprets the bumps as steps and has been counting since we got on those dodgy roads. I can see how it counts steps while the minibus is driving over potholes. Fascinating!
Marble Mountains
Just off the Danang Beach coastal road, the Marble Mountains (Ngu Hanh Son) con- sist of five craggy marble outcrops topped with pagodas. Each mountain is named for the natural element it’s said to represent: Thuy Son (Water), Moc Son (Wood), Hoa Son (Fire), Kim Son (Metal or Gold) and Tho Son (Earth). The villages that have sprung up at the base of the mountains specialise in marble sculpture, though they now astutely use marble from China rather than hacking away at the mountains that bring the visitors in.
Thuy Son (15,000d; h7am-5pm) is the largest and most famous of the five Marble Mountains, with a number of natural caves in which first Hindu and later Buddhist sanctuaries have been built over the centuries. Of the two paths heading up the mountain, the one closer to the beach (at the end of the village) makes for a better circuit.
Source: Lonely Planet
When we arrive in Hoi An, we slowly say goodbye to each other. The guide stops on one of the main roads and asks me and the two Germans to get off. He explains that our hotel is in an area the bus can't drive in and that it is only a short walk from here.
Hmm... I fire up the maps app and find out that it is not that close as he says and that there is a road to the hotel the bus could take. Anyway, I am not going to argue with him. As it starts to rain and my suitcase has only three wheels (the fourth lost the battle against the tarmac in Hanoi a few weeks ago), I refuse to walk and want to take a taxi. I ask the Germans if they want to join and offer to pay for the ride. They hesitate initially, but as it rain more and more, they agree and we flag down a cab.
We arrive at the hotel a few minutes lates and some members of staff come to open the doors and take our luggage. We go to the reception and present our passports. This causes great confusion, because the receptionists believe that the three of us are together and say that they have no room for us. It takes a bit of time to clarify that we got here together, but we are not together and that we want two rooms. After this is clear, a member of staff takes the keys and asks us to follow him. Even though our rooms are next to each other, we won't cross paths again.
I booked a room in the Acacia Heritage Hotel for a few days. Even though it says 414, it is on the third floor.
My cosy hotel room
Balcony
Pool
There are a bar and a restaurant on the top floor.
I make myself comfortable and unpack a few things, wait until it stops to rain and go for a walk and to have dinner. It is only a short walk over a bridge to the old town of Hoi An.
Good night everyone!
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