HUE TO HOI AN

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We woke up feeling surprisingly normal. We met Tom for breakfast and donated a jumper and a waterproof jacket to his crazy moped mission. We knew how cold and wet it would be up north and were always looking to lighten our backpacks.

We were leaving Hue for Hoi An, but rather that catch a bus which would drive us there without seeing anything, we booked a car with Ms Thu. It only cost us an extra couple of pounds each but we would stop at some of the sights along the way.

Our first stop was at a beach surrounded by mountains. It would have been really stunning if there wasn’t so much rubbish everywhere. Our driver told us this would be our lunch stop so we had a look at the menu and took a seat at the tables overlooking the sea. We were brought the menu and then told that we couldn’t have anything from it - why bring the menu in the first place? Instead we could choose from their specials menu. This menu was conveniently less extensive and more expensive. Some of the noodles on the menu were as much we would normally pay for both of us to eat and drink. Andy and I decided not to bother but Pete was pretty hungry so ordered the cheapest noodles on the menu. When they turned up it was obvious that they came from a packet. At $5.50 they must win the award for the worlds most expensive pot noodle!

After lunch we drove along the Hai Van Pass. This mountain pass road was featured in the top gear Vietnam special. Jeremy Clarkson said it was one of the best coast roads in the world and he wasn’t wrong. As the road winds around the mountains from high up you get the most stunning views of the south China sea below.

We made a stop at some bunkers from the war, but as we walked around we were surrounded by ladies trying to sell us bangles. Andy and I managed to get away, but Pete was not so lucky. He did end up buying some and he was convinced they charged him too much - he still wont tell me how much he paid. Then to top it off she tried to short change him…twice!

We made our final stop at Marble Mountain. Some of first temples we visited were not too impressive but as we carried on and climbed many steps the visit soon became worthwhile. At first we had a man following us around, even though we told him not to. He was obviously trying to get some money out of us for showing us around, but rather that help us he was actually spoiling our visit. All he did was walk up to places, point and repeatedly shout “Lucky Buddha, lucky Buddha sir, lucky Buddha!” Visiting places like this should be a peaceful experience, and one where you are not rushed about and shouted at. For this reason, when he asked for money we refused - much to his surprise and disappointment. When he finally left we were able to walk around and discover places at our own pace - apart from the time limit our driver had given us. As we wandered into different caves we found both Hindu and Buddhist sanctuaries. Most of the caves are smallish with a small statue inside, but as I walked down a corridor in one of the larger caves I was amazed to find it open up into a massive space with a huge Buddha statue. When your not expecting to find something so beautiful it can really take your breath away.

We arrived in Hoi An to find it was really busy. There were not many hotel rooms available so we took what we could get. Its wasn’t the best and the staff had a bit of an attitude problem, but unless we wanted to pay three times as much, we were left with no other choice.

By now Andy and I were starting to feel the affects of last nights party. We did quite well to make it that far I think. We went for a walk around the old town which is a world heritage site. It’s a very pretty place with old buildings and lanterns across the roads. There is also a beautiful Japanese covered bridge which is lit up in the evenings. We found somewhere for dinner, but we were back at the hotel by 9pm to catch up on some of that missed sleep.

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