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Published: April 24th 2017
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Leaving Hoi An I was bound for the Imperial City of Hue - home to the ruling Nguyen Dynasty of these lands until 1945 when the emperor decided to side with the revolutionary Ho Chi Minh and his government. I decided to take the train as I enjoy train travel and the opportunity does not come along all that often. I would need to make my way to Da Nang Train Station 20km to the North. So I walked the 2km to the bus station in Hoi An. Unfortunately this bus station only served long destination travel like Saigon or Hanoi. So I had to bite the bullet and pay $10,000VND (negotiated down from $60,000VND) to get to the proper bus station. Here on the bus the nasty old Vietnamese lady informed me that the fare would be $50,000VND to Da Nang. I pointed out that on the door the fare is clearly stated at $20,000VND ($1). She would have none of it and I refused to pay the exorbitant cost. I was made to leave the bus after a few choice words by both parties.
A young local guy had seen what was going on and came over to
ask me about the situation of which I explained. He told me that the bus drivers on the Da Nang to Hoi An route are notorious for overcharging foreigners as the only other option to get to Da Nang is a $300,000VND taxi ride and the drivers know this. I did not care, and refused to be ripped off. I thanked him for his concern and started walking the 20km to Da Nang hoping someone might pick me up. About 1km down the road in the infernal heat I realized that this was a stupid plan. I sat in the shade to weigh my options. About 20 minutes later the young local guy came up on his scooter and said he had negotiated a fare of $30,000VND for me on a different bus to Da Nang. Still $10,000VND over what the fare should be, but I had no choice and accepted. I still won a victory on principle over the nasty old Vietnamese lady. An hour later I was at the Da Nang train station where I purchased the cheapest hard seat ticket I could get for $50,000VND ($2.50.) My decision to go the cheap route rather than the AC
soft seat for $80,000VND ($4) was reinforced when I was the only white person on the car. My decision was further reinforced when the old man next to me started to pour tall glasses of rice wine to share with me whilst speaking to me in Vietnamese like I understood. It didn't matter, after a few cups of rice wine I started to speak to him in English like he understood. It made for an enjoyable journey down the tracks along the winding coastal railway until 3 hours later I arrived into Hue.
Sometimes travel can be difficult in this country (see above) but usually it is easy. At the train station in Hue I was offered a free ride to a guesthouse in the city centre. The room was perfect and after negotiating a price of $140,000VND ($7) down from $10, I was sorted. The first night I just wandered around the city centre getting my bearings. Hue is a nice enough city, but after all this time moving from place to place they all seem to look the same. I had a feeling of just wanting to leave once I arrived. I am happier when I am
out of the cities and in the villages amongst nature. I did meet a pair of South Vietnamese Marines who fought alongside the Americans in the war. When I told them I was American they were so happy and kept thanking me, even buying my beers. I told them it was not necessary, but they were adamant that I not pay for anything. Super nice people and I enjoyed hearing their stories. I love situations like these. While my other fellow travelers are busy getting drunk amongst themselves with other Westerners at the hotel bar, I prefer to hit the streets.
As I mentioned earlier Hue was home to the Nguyen Dynasty and the big draw here is to see the tombs of the old emperors on the banks of the Perfume River and to also visit the old Imperial City known as The Citadel. I'm kind of "tombed out" at this point so I gave these a pass. I was however keen to visit the Imperial City and stroll its grounds. For $120,000VND I did just that. Shunning the mototaxi mafia I walked 3km to the Imperial City's gates and tried to go back in time as I
walked around. Much of the place was bombed into oblivion during the war, but restoration works are ongoing and you can get an idea of its past grandeur. The royal halls were very ornate and you could clearly see the Chinese influence in the architecture. Another fun place to waste away an afternoon and the day I spent here made my stop in Hue worth it. Other than The Citadel there is not a whole lot going on in Hue. Outside of the city you can visit the DMZ, or take a tour to Khe Sanh Combat Base, but neither of these had any draw for me. I don't need any more reminders of what has transpired here. So taking out my trusty map I made plans to yet again hop onto the train and continue my journey North and get back into nature before my eventual date with the capitol city of Hanoi.
It may seem trivial to argue and haggle over every $1 here or $0.50 there. Also maybe it is not right to negotiate hard on price when making a purchase with locals as they don't have much money and for the most part are very
poor. And for a three week holiday I would agree with these statements. All the hardship I put myself through to save a buck whether it be walking for miles rather than paying for a taxi, taking the cheapest and slowest public transport rather than the comfortable and fast tourist transport, or staying in guesthouses or hostels instead of a mid-range hotel is necessary for long term travel. If I save $5 everyday - which it is usually more, sometimes less. But on average $5, at this point that is well over $2,000 in my pocket. It adds up and you have to be diligent and stick with it lest your finances go spiraling out of control. It is easy to say that the $10 meal in a high end restaurant here in Asia is so cheap, or that for $30 I can stay in a four star hotel is nothing to spend for a night. But, for $2 I can have a nice Vietnamese meal on the street and for $7 I can have a room that is good enough for me. I don’t need fancy. Maybe when I get home I'll think that I should have stayed in
beard
Hobo, vagabond, or what have you on a train. Man I love my trains. For the first time in my life, I have grey in my beard. It's time to be done with it. a nice resort or ate out at high end digs, but for now I've done it my way. I'm certain I can travel cheaper, and it would be easy to spend more money to travel nicer. But if I can save $5 a day, that's pretty good.
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