Hai Van By Minivan

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Loyal readers will have noticed there’s one person in our party who’s been a little low-key in our recent adventures. Alas, Wendy’s been a little under the weather and although still game, has found the going a bit tough over the last few days. Yesterday, Wendy decided to take a little time to chill out and catch up on some sleep.

Don't worry, she’s on the road to recovery and raring to go as we travel to Hue to look at this iconic city and its historic citadel. We’re going to learn a little more about one of the most infamous battles of the American War and some of the distinctly unsavoury stuff that was done in the name of so-called peace.

Brace yourself; it’s going to be a bumpy ride in more ways than one! Talking of which.

The Hai Van Pass

Is this one of the best driving roads in the world? It’s undoubtedly one of the most famous. Whether we’ll ever get to navigate a vehicle along this iconic strip of tarmac is unlikely, so we just had to enjoy the view as our driver did the necessary.

What can’t be denied is that driving or not, it’s an heart-pumping journey into a myriad of insane hairpin turns lined with vertiginous drops. Get it wrong, and you’ll be barreling through acres of lush foliage for a long time before your vehicle crunches to a halt. At points you are pulling some severe G as a combination of brakes, sharp turns and dodgy road camber combine to slide you from your seat and into the footwells.

Along the way you’re vying with lorries, tourist buses and local Vietnamese commuters all driving madly as we have come to expect. Just because this is one of the most challenging drives in the country, it doesn’t seem to encourage safer or more mindful road behaviour. Oh well, they say you should admire consistency and issues of life and death needn't get in the way of that.

There are obviously quite a few ‘living the dream’ bikers. Foreigners who have added ‘drive the Hai Van Pass’ to their bucket lists. For these lucky souls, that’s another box ticked assuming their trip goes well.

Put all that to one side, and you're treated to some of the most breathtaking views imaginable. It’s as if you can see the whole of Vietnam in one perfectly composed vista. There are beaches, mountains, acres of sky, industry, boats, trains and people all pulling together to create a comprehensive montage of this marvellous, topsy-turvy country. All you need do is point a camera at it and click away.

Yet soon it was all over. After our brief lunch stop, we got going, and the roads started to get busier. The frenetic edges of Hue city emerged slowly but unmistakably. It began to look and feel a little like the chaos of Hanoi, and when we pulled up outside the Moonlight Hotel, our Hai Van Pass experience was over.

Now it’s time to find out what Hue is all about.

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