Despite being sold two "luxury sleeper" tickets back in crazy Hanoi our bus was neither luxurious nor did we manage to get any sleep! The combination of an infestation of extremely fast and jumpy baby cockroaches, poorly inflated tires on potholed roads and the by now familiar and only form Vietnamese road communication, the horn, meant sleep was simply not an option, so I instead resigned myself to 9hrs listening to Simon and Grafunkl's Greatest Hits on loop in a bid to calm myself enough to at least doze. Alicia as annoyingly as ever, was out like a light! In situations like this I have learnt to try and look at the positives in order to trick myself in to a better state of mind, and in this instance my solstice was provided by the local Vietnamese we picked up en-route to join an already packed bus. Whilst I genuinely felt for there sardine like plight in the isles of the bus, it did lead to me feeling much more appreciative of my seat.
At around 4am, the bus screeched to a halt and we were summoned to attention by our Nazi conductor who marched up and down the bus kicking the seats and screeching Nah Twang, Nah Twang, get off bus, Nah Twang. To be dropped off at 4am when we had expected 7am earliest came, as you would expect, as somewhat of a shock and it was only later that day that we cottoned on to their ploy knowing full well they wouldn’t get a full departing bus were tourists aware they would be left to fend for themselves in the middle of a big town at 4 in the morning, they advertised the arrival time as 7am. Anyway, the commadery amongst the outwitted travellers was quite high, and as usually happens in times of travel struggle, we teamed up with three Irish girls to go on an accommodation hunt. Surprisingly there were a few hotels still open for business but given the cheapest room was $50 a night we holed in for a few hours outside a 24hr convenience store playing sh it head, sharing stories, eating Oreos and drinking water, rock and roll!!!
Eventually people started to open shop again, and we walked around dozens of guesthouses all charging triple the normal rate (note to self, NEVER travel through Vietnam at TET). Close to giving up hope of ever finding a bed to rest our weary heads, we were approached by an angel from above accompanied by the chorus of heaven(a fat man on a motorbike)professing to own a new guesthouse round the corner. He plopped us both on the back and proceeded to drive the wrong way up a dual carriageway to the new guesthouse nearby. Usually we wouldn't accept such a proposal from a stranger on a bike, but when sleep-deprived and gagging for a clean room, anything sounds like a good plan!
Fortunately, the guesthouse was great as it was run by a family who had just opened it a few months earlier. We got the room by the kitchen and it felt like we were part of a home stay, as our hosts were so attentive and friendly the entire time. As is the norm after a long journey, we both had our showers and snoozed for a good few hours until we felt like normal human beings again... Oh the stresses and strains of travelling...
We both awoke at around 1pm and having found a laundrette to wash 10 days worth of clothes (I had been wearing the same underwear for 3days), we headed East towards what Nahtrang was most famous for, its beaches! As the promenade approached and the scent of the sea air stated to hit the my nostrils and I was becoming giddy by the prospect of a further snooze in the sand followed by a cool dip in the crystal clear waters. Sadly, the beach did not meet neither mine or Alicia’s expectations. Nahtrang had been sold as the beach capital of Nam and yes, it did have a beach, but you couldn’t really see it for the wash of tourists (mainly Vietnamese) and accompanying rubbish which had also littered the water. Alicia and I were starting to learn a VERY valuable lesson for any future trip to Vietnam, DO NOT TRAVEL AT TET. It would appear Nah Trang is also a very popular holiday destination for the local population making it feel more like Blackpool in its heyday than a South East Asian tropical paradise. To its credit however, you could see the place had potential and without the mass of people and rubbish, it would probably have been better appreciated by Alicia and I. As ever, we both made the most of the tools we had been given and following finding a spot on the beach, settled down to a few hours of sun bathing. Considering our surroundings, we had a very pleasant and relaxing afternoon.
Our evening entertainment was the beginning of Con Air, followed by some Thai food and an early night in preparation for a fuller days exploring on day2 in Nah Trang.
Thursday, 22 July 2010
Thursday, 1 July 2010
16th Feb 2010: Down the coast to Nha Trang
We decided to be smart about our travels the next day, so instead of taking a taxi we hired a bike for the day and set off on our adventure back to the beach. We had a coach to take that evening, so we had to check out, leave our bags behind reception and set off for a bit of beach action before our trip that evening.
Cycling doesn't come that naturally to me (apparently I look like a bit of a donkey on a bike) but I have to say that, despite the traffic and motorcycles, I felt fairly confident cycling in Vietnam! Maybe it was because so many people cycle, that I felt some sort of safety in numbers on the road..
We got to the beach which was absolutely packed (again) and searched for another bargain restaurant and deck chair combo. Unfortunately this time round we weren't as lucky. Yes we did manage to secure free deck chairs in exchange for a promise that we would have lunch in the restaurant, but, when we received our grilled fish it was completely off! Chewy, smelly and rather similar to cat food, Leon and I had no choice but to complain and return the terrible fish. The manager did give us some amazing garlic prawns in exchange but we were a little upset that they tried to pawn off some old fish to us. Some people never learn.
After another glorious day of sun bathing and swimming in the sea, we cycled back, grabbing some baguettes on the way, all ready for our journey for the evening. We had to wait in the travel agency for hours until the bus eventually arrived, and the scramble to get onto the sleeper coach was one of the funniest sights I have ever seen. About 25 people were following this coach around as it was trying its best to turn round in the road, almost knocking people off their feet because they were just following it so as to get onto the coachh first. Luckily we had learnt the trick of getting one person to man the bags, whilst the other one queued, so we secured some ground floor beds next to each other. The man who conducted the coach was evil however, and kept shouting at everyone (including me!) to take off their shoes, not use the toilet etc....we could tell this going to be VERY long journey!
Cycling doesn't come that naturally to me (apparently I look like a bit of a donkey on a bike) but I have to say that, despite the traffic and motorcycles, I felt fairly confident cycling in Vietnam! Maybe it was because so many people cycle, that I felt some sort of safety in numbers on the road..
We got to the beach which was absolutely packed (again) and searched for another bargain restaurant and deck chair combo. Unfortunately this time round we weren't as lucky. Yes we did manage to secure free deck chairs in exchange for a promise that we would have lunch in the restaurant, but, when we received our grilled fish it was completely off! Chewy, smelly and rather similar to cat food, Leon and I had no choice but to complain and return the terrible fish. The manager did give us some amazing garlic prawns in exchange but we were a little upset that they tried to pawn off some old fish to us. Some people never learn.
After another glorious day of sun bathing and swimming in the sea, we cycled back, grabbing some baguettes on the way, all ready for our journey for the evening. We had to wait in the travel agency for hours until the bus eventually arrived, and the scramble to get onto the sleeper coach was one of the funniest sights I have ever seen. About 25 people were following this coach around as it was trying its best to turn round in the road, almost knocking people off their feet because they were just following it so as to get onto the coachh first. Luckily we had learnt the trick of getting one person to man the bags, whilst the other one queued, so we secured some ground floor beds next to each other. The man who conducted the coach was evil however, and kept shouting at everyone (including me!) to take off their shoes, not use the toilet etc....we could tell this going to be VERY long journey!
Tuesday, 25 May 2010
15th Feb 2010: Post-Tet, Hoi An, Vietnam
It was officially the New Year in Vietnam and we were heading to the beach. Always a good way to start off a new year. The town was eerily quiet, save for a few tired looking tourists and taxi drivers doing the rounds. We had a quick breakfast in what was possibly the only open cafe in the vicinity, and jumped in a taxi down to the beach which was about a 10 minute drive away.
When we got there, we were amazed at how long, wide and beautiful this stretch of beach was. It´s strange because it isn´t one that people tend to talk about, but I suppose these ones sometimes turn out to be the best. There were some local families having picnics under the coconut trees and also quite a few tourists like us who were making the most of the fantastic weather.
We walked up the beach until we found a quiet spot and the restaurant behind it let us use their towels and lounge chairs for free, only if we promised to eat lunch there. The deal was made and we happily soaked up the sunshine and went swimming in the cool and very clean waters. This was truly a blissful day. Come lunch time we were ready to sample some grilled fish with chips and rice, and all in all again the food was pretty good and also quite cheap, considering we were in a rather touristy area.
We read, swam some more and just relaxed (it´s a hard life) for the rest of the day and around 4 pm decided to head back to our hotel. Unfortunately we couldn´t find any people to share a taxi with us as most people were clever enough to hire bikes from town. Instead I insisted we walk back until we were too tired to walk and THEN get a cab, which Leon agreed to but wasn´t too happy about! At least we managed to walk about half way and then jump into a taxi, thus saving us about 4 US dollars. As they say, every little helps.
When we got there, we were amazed at how long, wide and beautiful this stretch of beach was. It´s strange because it isn´t one that people tend to talk about, but I suppose these ones sometimes turn out to be the best. There were some local families having picnics under the coconut trees and also quite a few tourists like us who were making the most of the fantastic weather.
We walked up the beach until we found a quiet spot and the restaurant behind it let us use their towels and lounge chairs for free, only if we promised to eat lunch there. The deal was made and we happily soaked up the sunshine and went swimming in the cool and very clean waters. This was truly a blissful day. Come lunch time we were ready to sample some grilled fish with chips and rice, and all in all again the food was pretty good and also quite cheap, considering we were in a rather touristy area.
We read, swam some more and just relaxed (it´s a hard life) for the rest of the day and around 4 pm decided to head back to our hotel. Unfortunately we couldn´t find any people to share a taxi with us as most people were clever enough to hire bikes from town. Instead I insisted we walk back until we were too tired to walk and THEN get a cab, which Leon agreed to but wasn´t too happy about! At least we managed to walk about half way and then jump into a taxi, thus saving us about 4 US dollars. As they say, every little helps.
14th Feb: Valentine´s Day and Tet in Hoi An, Vietnam
The next day was officially our ‘walking tour’ day which basically meant picking some sites off the Lonely Planet guide and walking around Hoi An to see a bit more of it in order and try to appreciate why it was given the UNESCO stamp.
It was surprisingly quiet for Chinese New Year – back in KL I’m used to the loud drums and cheers coming from big crowds as some groups performed the traditional lion dance. However, in Hoi An this clearly wasn’t the case and if anything it was quieter than ever!
Nonetheless, we enjoyed some breakfast in a rather trendy looking cafe for croissants and coffee, and then set about on our walking tour.
We started off at a Japanese bridge near the river across to a lovely street full of shops on either side, where I bought a pretty bag at a bargain price thanks to Leon the negotiator! We then quietly admired some of the temples in town, most of which had messages hanging from the ceilings dedicated to loved ones who had died as well as those who are still living, as is the norm during Chinese New Year. We then wandered down the market, which again was fairly empty and quiet, before crossing the bridge to an island that is mainly full of houses and a few hotels. We wanted to stroll down the river bank but unfortunately the stench of the sewerage by the bridge prevented us from doing so, and instead we crossed back onto the mainland and headed near the market for lunch. We couldn’t find a seafood restaurant that featured in the Lonely Planet (oh how much we hate but love this guide book at the same time) so instead settled for one of the few places that was open and funnily enough only had tourists in it! It seems that all the locals had gone back to be with their families, or perhaps to another part of town that we just didn´t know about...
After lunch we meandered back to our hotel to chill out before a Valentine´s dinner in a beautiful restaurant aptly called the Secret Garden, set in a very romantice courtyard and with amazing food at decent prices, given the high quality of the food. We decided to brave it and tried a bottle of Vietnamese red wine from Dalat which was interesting (let´s say it´s not what we´re used to!) but after a while it was much easier to gulp down. Dinner consisted of a beef curry and fish dish with rice, both amazing and left us wanting more as always. Once our meal had settled down nicely, we strolled over to the river and saw that there was some sort of fun fair going on and given it was free entry, we made our way there to soak up the atmosphere. If I remember correctly, we tried our hand at a ´wheel of fortune´type game but sadly lost our one dollar, oh well. We sat by the waterside with other people and just watched the floating candles in the water, which people were buying and letting go, as a sort of good luck ritual for the new year. When we left the fair, Leon and I both bought our own floating candles to let go in the river, and thankfully neither of us fell in, nor did our candles go out (like some others did!)
All the candles in the water made for a beautiful sight and even though it wasn´t a crazy party that we were expecting, we both had a really memorable and enjoyable Tet in Vietnam.
It was surprisingly quiet for Chinese New Year – back in KL I’m used to the loud drums and cheers coming from big crowds as some groups performed the traditional lion dance. However, in Hoi An this clearly wasn’t the case and if anything it was quieter than ever!
Nonetheless, we enjoyed some breakfast in a rather trendy looking cafe for croissants and coffee, and then set about on our walking tour.
We started off at a Japanese bridge near the river across to a lovely street full of shops on either side, where I bought a pretty bag at a bargain price thanks to Leon the negotiator! We then quietly admired some of the temples in town, most of which had messages hanging from the ceilings dedicated to loved ones who had died as well as those who are still living, as is the norm during Chinese New Year. We then wandered down the market, which again was fairly empty and quiet, before crossing the bridge to an island that is mainly full of houses and a few hotels. We wanted to stroll down the river bank but unfortunately the stench of the sewerage by the bridge prevented us from doing so, and instead we crossed back onto the mainland and headed near the market for lunch. We couldn’t find a seafood restaurant that featured in the Lonely Planet (oh how much we hate but love this guide book at the same time) so instead settled for one of the few places that was open and funnily enough only had tourists in it! It seems that all the locals had gone back to be with their families, or perhaps to another part of town that we just didn´t know about...
After lunch we meandered back to our hotel to chill out before a Valentine´s dinner in a beautiful restaurant aptly called the Secret Garden, set in a very romantice courtyard and with amazing food at decent prices, given the high quality of the food. We decided to brave it and tried a bottle of Vietnamese red wine from Dalat which was interesting (let´s say it´s not what we´re used to!) but after a while it was much easier to gulp down. Dinner consisted of a beef curry and fish dish with rice, both amazing and left us wanting more as always. Once our meal had settled down nicely, we strolled over to the river and saw that there was some sort of fun fair going on and given it was free entry, we made our way there to soak up the atmosphere. If I remember correctly, we tried our hand at a ´wheel of fortune´type game but sadly lost our one dollar, oh well. We sat by the waterside with other people and just watched the floating candles in the water, which people were buying and letting go, as a sort of good luck ritual for the new year. When we left the fair, Leon and I both bought our own floating candles to let go in the river, and thankfully neither of us fell in, nor did our candles go out (like some others did!)
All the candles in the water made for a beautiful sight and even though it wasn´t a crazy party that we were expecting, we both had a really memorable and enjoyable Tet in Vietnam.
13th Feb 2010: Hoi An, Vietnam
The next day we lugged all our bags down stairs only to be greeted by a pig’s head on a table in the reception area! Yes, it was Tet (Chinese New Year) the following evening so people were preparing their offerings for the Gods...but I thought that the pig’s head was taking it a little far for my liking.
I stood outside and waited for Leon to settle the bill and was on the lookout for our coach to arrive to take us to Hoi An.
Lo and behold we weren’t greeted by a big coach but instead had the luxury of a packed minibus for 10 people. The driver explained that this being Tet, there weren’t many people travelling that day and that we would have to make do with the little bus. Luckily we were used to these sort of ‘surprises’ and really what mattered most to us at that point was to make it to Hoi An in one piece and at a safe speed.
We were extremely fortunate to have a sensible driver and a local father and son in the van, so the driver was quite careful as he didn’t want to scare the child. The drive down to Hoi An was one of the most pleasant we had been on so far, and we got to take in some spectacular views of the coast, with deserted, clean beaches out the windows and little by way of traffic to slow us down.
A bizarre stop we made as we approached Hoi An was at a marble shop, which was adorned with huge marble statues outside the building and lots of Vietnamese shop assistants who were trying to palm off their marble goods. We had to explain to them that most of us were travellers and therefore carrying around a 40Kg marble statue was not going to be possible!
After this pit stop we went on our way to Hoi An, which is one of the few Vietnamese towns that are declared a UNESCO World Heritage town. As we approached Hoi An we drove to a travel agency, where a woman hopped in and proceeded to instruct the driver to drive off to some hotel out of town. This is a pretty annoying habit of some tour agents in Vietnam, who try and get tourists to stay in a particular hotel so that they make some commission. Leon and I, along with a few passengers, already had a room booked and so we insisted that they take us to our hotels instead. Thankfully they did and so we went to our hotel ‘with swimming pool’, as it said on the little card that we picked up from the previous hotel. It being Tet, we were very lucky to actually get a room at a decent price (USD12), given that most of them had been booked up by local Vietnamese who were taking the week off to celebrate. When we got there we were pleasantly surprised as the room was big with two double beds, it had a bath (which is very rare in a cheap hotel in Vietnam) and a TV. Air-con was a bit extra but of course we went for it, as the nights get extremely uncomfortable if you only have a fan in the room. We took a little tour of the hotel and found the swimming pool, which was an indoor pool probably about 3 x 3 metres in size, so we decided to sack off that idea and head into town.
As you approach the river the main center of Hoi An becomes much prettier, with cobbled streets, colourful hanging lanterns and quaint, old colonnial styled building and shops selling colourful bags, hats and all sorts of touristy trinkets. There is apparently a ban of motorcycles down the main lanes of the centre during peak time, but I think most locals ignore this rule and still speed down these roads but given that it is quite a small town, there isn’t quite the volume of traffic that you would see in other cities in Vietnam. We made our way across the main river and settled into one of the many restaurants to sample their 3000 dong local brew which was actually very good considering the price! After a couple of drinks we made our way down one of the many cobbled streets until we found a restaurant that we liked the look of. This was a tastefully decorated one (not the usual simple, plain one that we were accustomed to) and we again shared some rice, garlic prawns and grilled squid which was cooked to perfection. Since the following night was officially New Year, we figured that we would have a quiet one and save the celebrations for the following evening. Early nights was becoming the norm for us and frankly, neither of us were complaining about it as we love our sleep!
I stood outside and waited for Leon to settle the bill and was on the lookout for our coach to arrive to take us to Hoi An.
Lo and behold we weren’t greeted by a big coach but instead had the luxury of a packed minibus for 10 people. The driver explained that this being Tet, there weren’t many people travelling that day and that we would have to make do with the little bus. Luckily we were used to these sort of ‘surprises’ and really what mattered most to us at that point was to make it to Hoi An in one piece and at a safe speed.
We were extremely fortunate to have a sensible driver and a local father and son in the van, so the driver was quite careful as he didn’t want to scare the child. The drive down to Hoi An was one of the most pleasant we had been on so far, and we got to take in some spectacular views of the coast, with deserted, clean beaches out the windows and little by way of traffic to slow us down.
A bizarre stop we made as we approached Hoi An was at a marble shop, which was adorned with huge marble statues outside the building and lots of Vietnamese shop assistants who were trying to palm off their marble goods. We had to explain to them that most of us were travellers and therefore carrying around a 40Kg marble statue was not going to be possible!
After this pit stop we went on our way to Hoi An, which is one of the few Vietnamese towns that are declared a UNESCO World Heritage town. As we approached Hoi An we drove to a travel agency, where a woman hopped in and proceeded to instruct the driver to drive off to some hotel out of town. This is a pretty annoying habit of some tour agents in Vietnam, who try and get tourists to stay in a particular hotel so that they make some commission. Leon and I, along with a few passengers, already had a room booked and so we insisted that they take us to our hotels instead. Thankfully they did and so we went to our hotel ‘with swimming pool’, as it said on the little card that we picked up from the previous hotel. It being Tet, we were very lucky to actually get a room at a decent price (USD12), given that most of them had been booked up by local Vietnamese who were taking the week off to celebrate. When we got there we were pleasantly surprised as the room was big with two double beds, it had a bath (which is very rare in a cheap hotel in Vietnam) and a TV. Air-con was a bit extra but of course we went for it, as the nights get extremely uncomfortable if you only have a fan in the room. We took a little tour of the hotel and found the swimming pool, which was an indoor pool probably about 3 x 3 metres in size, so we decided to sack off that idea and head into town.
As you approach the river the main center of Hoi An becomes much prettier, with cobbled streets, colourful hanging lanterns and quaint, old colonnial styled building and shops selling colourful bags, hats and all sorts of touristy trinkets. There is apparently a ban of motorcycles down the main lanes of the centre during peak time, but I think most locals ignore this rule and still speed down these roads but given that it is quite a small town, there isn’t quite the volume of traffic that you would see in other cities in Vietnam. We made our way across the main river and settled into one of the many restaurants to sample their 3000 dong local brew which was actually very good considering the price! After a couple of drinks we made our way down one of the many cobbled streets until we found a restaurant that we liked the look of. This was a tastefully decorated one (not the usual simple, plain one that we were accustomed to) and we again shared some rice, garlic prawns and grilled squid which was cooked to perfection. Since the following night was officially New Year, we figured that we would have a quiet one and save the celebrations for the following evening. Early nights was becoming the norm for us and frankly, neither of us were complaining about it as we love our sleep!
12th Feb 2010: Wandering around Hue, Vietnam
Another day in Hue and this one was, surprise surprise, another boiling hot day! We decided to stretch our legs and walk across town to the Citadel, crossing the river to take in the views, battling with a bit of motorcycle-heavy traffic before reaching the gates of the Citadel.
En route Leon had to try on as many caps as possible, as he had managed to lose the last one that he had bought, again. Afterw3ards we toddled off to the Citadel’s main gates, amusingly declining the many tuk tuk drivers who offered to show us around for what seemed like quite a hefty price.
The grounds of the Citadel are absolutely massive, which neither of us had really expected. It was a mixture of well pruned gardens and lawns, long, unimposing halls that early emperors used to dwell in as well as larger, more decorative buildings used as theatres or residential dwellings for their mothers, families and so on.
It was a bit hauntingly quiet but very peaceful at the same time in the grounds and we spent most of the day just exploring these ancient buildings. Once lunch time descended we were more than ready to sample some of Hue’s finest food, and this time we took up the offer of a kind tuk tuk driver who, if I remember correctly, only asked for USD1 to take us to a famous seafood restaurant within the citadel walls that we had read about. You gotta love Asia and the cheap prices.
The seafood was divine and also very affordable – we had rice with prawns, a huge freshly cooked fish and vegetables as well, and probably some squid thrown in there for good luck! The waiter showed us how to roll up some Vietnamese spring rolls which consisted of the rice paper, thin slices of cucumber, some greens and fresh fish covered in spices. You roll it all up and dip it into a sweet and sour dipping sauce and the outcome is delicious! I eventually got impatient with the rice paper and just continued eating the fish and with a couple of local beers this was definitely a memorable lunch! What made it even better was the fact that the bill was so cheap, only about 6 quid per person, which is pretty much unheard of in the UK.
Finding our way back to the hotel was a bit of a mission and we did have to pop into a few shops along the way to try and get us out of the Citadel. Eventually we made it and along the way we took a detour into a huge supermarket, which is always an experience in itself in a foreign country. Sadly we couldn’t find any Milo for Leon (who had developed a love for this chocolate milk drink) but we did manage to buy a lot of groceries for half the normal price, simply because this is where the locals shopped, and not just the tourists.
For our last night in Hue we happily ate some cheap noodles down the road from the hotel and had went to the local pub for a few games of pool and some drinks. We met two really down to earth Aussie guys who were travelling on bikes with a local tour guide called Mr Pink (yes, like in Reservoir Dogs) who was taking them down the coast of Vietnam like us. What we found incredible was how much they were paying Mr Pink but I guess you need to make sure that you are in safe hands and that does come at a price in places. This was it for us and Hue and we were now ready for the trip down to Hoi An the next day.
En route Leon had to try on as many caps as possible, as he had managed to lose the last one that he had bought, again. Afterw3ards we toddled off to the Citadel’s main gates, amusingly declining the many tuk tuk drivers who offered to show us around for what seemed like quite a hefty price.
The grounds of the Citadel are absolutely massive, which neither of us had really expected. It was a mixture of well pruned gardens and lawns, long, unimposing halls that early emperors used to dwell in as well as larger, more decorative buildings used as theatres or residential dwellings for their mothers, families and so on.
It was a bit hauntingly quiet but very peaceful at the same time in the grounds and we spent most of the day just exploring these ancient buildings. Once lunch time descended we were more than ready to sample some of Hue’s finest food, and this time we took up the offer of a kind tuk tuk driver who, if I remember correctly, only asked for USD1 to take us to a famous seafood restaurant within the citadel walls that we had read about. You gotta love Asia and the cheap prices.
The seafood was divine and also very affordable – we had rice with prawns, a huge freshly cooked fish and vegetables as well, and probably some squid thrown in there for good luck! The waiter showed us how to roll up some Vietnamese spring rolls which consisted of the rice paper, thin slices of cucumber, some greens and fresh fish covered in spices. You roll it all up and dip it into a sweet and sour dipping sauce and the outcome is delicious! I eventually got impatient with the rice paper and just continued eating the fish and with a couple of local beers this was definitely a memorable lunch! What made it even better was the fact that the bill was so cheap, only about 6 quid per person, which is pretty much unheard of in the UK.
Finding our way back to the hotel was a bit of a mission and we did have to pop into a few shops along the way to try and get us out of the Citadel. Eventually we made it and along the way we took a detour into a huge supermarket, which is always an experience in itself in a foreign country. Sadly we couldn’t find any Milo for Leon (who had developed a love for this chocolate milk drink) but we did manage to buy a lot of groceries for half the normal price, simply because this is where the locals shopped, and not just the tourists.
For our last night in Hue we happily ate some cheap noodles down the road from the hotel and had went to the local pub for a few games of pool and some drinks. We met two really down to earth Aussie guys who were travelling on bikes with a local tour guide called Mr Pink (yes, like in Reservoir Dogs) who was taking them down the coast of Vietnam like us. What we found incredible was how much they were paying Mr Pink but I guess you need to make sure that you are in safe hands and that does come at a price in places. This was it for us and Hue and we were now ready for the trip down to Hoi An the next day.
11th Feb 2010: Chugging on down to Hue, Vietnam
We had a notion that the train would be stuffy and hot but the experience was quite the opposite. Since we were both on the top bunk, this meant that the air con was blowing directly on us and as a result, it was absolutely freezing! However, this was much more preferable than the other extreme, that is, to be sweating buckets in our sleep, so when we woke up the next day I’m pretty sure we gave each other a high five for the great train journey.
It was a few hours still until we arrived in Hue, and since there were no seats in our cabin or carriage, Leon and I found some small plastic stools and perched by the hot water dispenser with some really old Vietnamese guy who was lovely and kept talking to us in French (Leon gets mistaken for a Frenchman all the time).
We arrived in Hue on schedule and first impressions were that we had arrived in the middle of nowhere. As soon as we left the station we negotiated two one-man tuk-tuk bicycles to take us down town to our hotel that we had pre-booked. As we went down the main road, we could see the citadel across the river which was Hue’s main attraction, and the only reason we were there really. We pulled up close enough to where we thought our hotel with and the cheeky tuk tuk guys tried to double the price of our ride, saying that we had gone much further than negotiated. This was completely untrue, so we did what honourable people would do and stood our ground! Finally we managed to convince them to take the money we agreed on and luckily they moved along!
We wandered around the main tourist area looking for our hotel which we eventually located. The owner was very friendly (always a plus) and we were so ready for a nap that we didn’t mind the four floor trek to get to our room. My how the Vietnamese love their tall, narrow buildings...
Blissful hot showers and a 3 hour power nap later (!) and we were ready for some food. Settling for the pizzeria round the corner, Leon and I ploughed into our very tasty pizzas and went across the road for a swift pint (which I believe cost the equivalent of one pound sterling) before heading back to the room for some mindless TV and an early night. The big Hue sightseeing trip could wait until tomorrow...
It was a few hours still until we arrived in Hue, and since there were no seats in our cabin or carriage, Leon and I found some small plastic stools and perched by the hot water dispenser with some really old Vietnamese guy who was lovely and kept talking to us in French (Leon gets mistaken for a Frenchman all the time).
We arrived in Hue on schedule and first impressions were that we had arrived in the middle of nowhere. As soon as we left the station we negotiated two one-man tuk-tuk bicycles to take us down town to our hotel that we had pre-booked. As we went down the main road, we could see the citadel across the river which was Hue’s main attraction, and the only reason we were there really. We pulled up close enough to where we thought our hotel with and the cheeky tuk tuk guys tried to double the price of our ride, saying that we had gone much further than negotiated. This was completely untrue, so we did what honourable people would do and stood our ground! Finally we managed to convince them to take the money we agreed on and luckily they moved along!
We wandered around the main tourist area looking for our hotel which we eventually located. The owner was very friendly (always a plus) and we were so ready for a nap that we didn’t mind the four floor trek to get to our room. My how the Vietnamese love their tall, narrow buildings...
Blissful hot showers and a 3 hour power nap later (!) and we were ready for some food. Settling for the pizzeria round the corner, Leon and I ploughed into our very tasty pizzas and went across the road for a swift pint (which I believe cost the equivalent of one pound sterling) before heading back to the room for some mindless TV and an early night. The big Hue sightseeing trip could wait until tomorrow...
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