Hue - Hoi An

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Hue - Hoi An
Our last full day in Hue was a relaxing one. A slow start to enjoy the buffet breakfast overlooking the perfume river at our hotel. The later morning was spent in cyclo’s touring a small part of the city. Sitting up front of a rider on a small seat was fun. We used the cyclo’s for two hours which cost us $2 each. First stop was the local market which bustled with many sights including animal internal organs (freaked Keagan out), clothes and other wares. Next stop was a supermarket to by supplies to save using the mini bar. Drinks followed at a small cafe written up in the guide books which is run by a deaf man. He got our order slightly wrong - no problems though. A welcome swim followed on our return to the pool. Each time we swam we were the only ones partaking.

Lunch was spent out our favorite Hue restaurant Missy Roo. Great yoghurt and fruit shakes. We had organised through one of our cyclo riders to go on a boat ride in the afternoon and this immediately followed lunch. Just the four of use on a large “dragon” boat for three hours ($18 for all of us). We stopped at two sites the first being a great pagoda high on a river bank cliff. It was special as monks were in attendance and their were few tourists. Hue overall is not frequented by many tourists which is great and there is enough to do for a few days. Our second stop was a small temple that wasn’t very special and for this we had to pay an entrance fee unlike the pagoda. On the boat we were entertained by a small boy playing drums and playing with a traditional dragon. Before dinner we sat on our balcony overlooking the perfume river witnessing a spectacular sunset - it was special.

Our start on Wednesday was a quick one as we were being picked up at 8.00am for our trip to Hoi An. In a minibus we travelled through Hue for longer than we thought as it sprawls away from the river at quite a length. The trip was over three hours and took us over the high pass between the mountains that divide north a south. A stunning road that was sign posted with signs including “sloppy road beware”. We had a quick drink at the top of the pass then headed through Danang to Hoi An. A very enjoyable bus trip. On arrival we checked in and had an hour to wait to get connecting rooms. A brief walk around town and lunch of magnificent banana pancakes and then back for a much needed swim. We are staying at the Hoi An Hotel and it’s old but classy. Late afternoon we hired a taxi and went to the nearby beach for dinner. Fresh seafood on the beach was special. The only negative was small insects in abundance. The restaurant owner fixed this by locating a fan right by us. On the climatic conditions -it’s very hot here and not as humid as in the north which is a welcome change.

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