Blogs from Hué, Thua Thien - Huế, North Central Coast, Vietnam, Asia - page 7

Van Sapa opweg naar het zuiden! Een korte Highlight van elke dag. 26mei 150km QL32 SaPa => Mu Cang Vanaf Sa Pa ben ik over de QL32 weg richting het zuiden gereden, niet de kortste weg maar wel erg prachtig. Dwars door de bergen en sommige stukken fantastisch asvalt! I love the combination Honda+Bergen+Bochten+goed asfalt! Voor de liefhebber ik heb het op film gezet :)! Deze dag 150km gereden en in het plaatsje Mu Cang overnacht. 27mei 273km Mu Cang => Xuan Mai Weer een erg mooie dag op de brommer gehad en aardig wat kilometers kunnen rijden. In Xuan Mai kon ik geen normaal guesthouse of hotel vinden alleen een erg luxe en duur Hotel. Na aantal rondjes te hebben gereden toch maar gevraagd hoe duur het was! 30 dollar! Dit is echt buiten mijn ... read more

Saigon Liam arrived in Saigon and we stayed 3 nights and got accustomed to the traffic, touts, tooting and the heat. Liam visited the Chi tunnels by speed boat and we all walked around the War Museum and Independence Palace in the 35 degree heat. It was very hot and humidity high; even the locals were fanning themselves, especially the men (some with pretty red lacy fans). We carried face cloths in a plastic bag so we could wet them with iced bottled water to cool us down – it was so hot. Very sad to see photos of the war especially the long lasting affects of agent orange and the terrified faces just before the american troops executed the locals. Very anti american obviously as they helped the south and the north won. They named ... read more

Nautica arrived this morning at Chan May port outside Da Nang. The bay is surrounded by beautiful lush mountains. It is hard to imagine that 40 some years ago it was in the middle of a terrible war. We boarded our bus for the 1 ½ hour drive along Vietnam highway no. 1 to the old imperial capital of Hue. The highway runs parallel to the railway, both of which connect Ho Chi Minh City in the south to Hanoi in the north. Nothing connected these two cities back in the 60s and 70s except war and destruction. The highway is under constant construction and it is narrow. At one point the road snakes over a mountain pass and then descends into the flat plain on the other side. Driving here is not for the feint ... read more

We've had a request from Grandy (my Grandma) for me to write something. So Mum and I have decided that I will write this blog, here it is. It's day 2 in Hue (pronounced Hway) and it's an early start to the morning. Today sounded like it was going to be a very exciting day for I think all of the group. We set off on a motorbike tour of Hue, making multiple stops in some temples and a nunnery/orphanage. When we first got to our bikes and met our drivers, a lot of us were very nervous but also excited. We drove off riding around all of Hue going over bridges, down alleys, along the country side and going through busy roads of traffic. Our first stop was at the Tu Duc Tomb. Tu Duc ... read more

We have been in Hue for 3 days now, it’s midway between Saigon our starting place and Hanoi out last destination. Hue’s main attraction is the Citadel, the imperial city on the northern bank of the Song Huong River. The Emperor’s official functions were carried out in the imperial enclosure. Within the enclosure is the ‘ Forbidden Purple City which was reserved for the private life of the Emperor, the only servants that were allowed in were eunuchs who posed no threat to the royal concubines.Nowadays visitors are welcome. As well as visiting the Citadel we have visited yet more pagodas and temples around the city. The river has attractive banks with ‘Dragon Boats’ taking tourist on a cruise to yet more tombs and temples. We declined the boat touts and strolled along the riverbank instead, ... read more