Toughest ride to the charming beach town of Hoi An

We left Hue, really early in the hope of making to Hoi An the same day. The day started out perfect, cloudy and flat for the first part. Then we started to see hills and then a cliff side mountain road known as the Hai Van pass. They have a tunnel but locals told us its too dangerous to ride bicycles through so we had to take the high road. The twisty road takes you up with amazing views of the sea, soon the sites are whiteout with fog, not too many cars on the road now with the tunnel but we see lots of motorbikes zipping by us and looking back and smiling. I not sure if they are friendly or just think we are crazy biking up this hill. We finally made it to the top after 2 hours of mostly pushing the bike, it was damp, foggy and cool with a small strip of vendors. After a few photos we started the nice downhill decent, it took 20 minutes of effortless bliss except for the fingers on the brakes, by the time we reached the bottom it was dark and we were in Da nang, to rest a night. After a much needed shower we headed out to get something to eat and found the best tasting Pho to date, I don't know it was the fact we were starving but we both ordered another bowl cost $1 a bowl. 

perfect day to ride, until we see the hills coming

tombs outside Hue

taking a break on top of one of the hills

this restaurant saved us with great food and views

$3 usd for a plate of great seafood spring rolls

the mother of all hill climbs in Vietnam

enjoying the views at the start

not so happy in the middle

just glad we made it to the top

Next day after sleeping in we went back to the same Pho restaurant to try it again and yes it is the best Pho we've had, savory broth with fresh sprouts and noodles plus free cold ice tea topped it off. This time for breakfast we only had 3 bowls we split the last. Lucky for us its a short ride to Hoi An because the sun was blistering compared to the day before. We checked out the famous China beach which was made famous by American G.I's needing a place for some R&R. Four hours later we reached Hoi An because of the strong head wind and the extreme heat slowed us down. We stopped at the beach to enjoy a cool drink and snack, while watching the old ladies round up customers for their respective establishments. After waiting for the sun to go down alittle we head to town and found a good value ($20usd without breakfast) place to stay the Grassland Hotel just 5 minutes outside of town and 15 minutes from the beach by bike. 

owner of the best Pho we've ever tasted just north of Da  Nang on route #1

round fishing boats in Da Nang 

the legendary China beach in Da Nang

wishing for cloud and no hills 

Hoi An, is famous for its hand made silk clothes, suites, pants, dresses you name it, if you can imagine it they can make it for you in silk or other types of fabrics. You won't have any trouble finding a shop because they are everywhere in the centre. The night life is around the river with restaurants and bars really nice place to relax and kill a few days. Also alot of the restaurants offer cooking classes if your so inclined to learn and you get to eat what you prepare. Hoi An has something for everyone, we only spent 2 nights but I can easily see why so many people end up staying longer here. 

beaches in Hoi An less chimerical than those of Da Nang

attractive night life alone the river

this tasty cool drink was made with avocados and mixed fruits  (never though to use it like this)

streets are lite up with cute lamps all over Hoi An

Jieun trying out the round boats parked in front of this great eat restaurant

cooked to perfection squid with garlic and ginger $3.50 usd

if you in Hoi An and looking for great value seafood check out this place

enjoying a cold beer in the hotel room

cute indoor pool at the hotel but never saw anyone using it

back court dinning area of the hotel

13 hour train ride to the old imperial city of Hue

Yes, 13 hours in a tight, smelly, hard bench train was our own fault because we tried to save some money. Taking the train from Ninh binh to Hue with our bikes was not as easy as just buying the ticket, we ended up spending almost an hour trying to figure out they wouldn't allow the bikes on the same train with us and plus they wouldn't give the exact price. Instead we would have to bring our bikes to the station early next day for loading and we would take the night train. They ended up charge us 50kg twice for the 2 bikes even though both combined weighed under 50kg. The ride was slow, really slow its only 560 km's but it took just over 13 hours, trap in a cabin they said was a/c but worked sporadically, loud men drinking and people sleeping everywhere, was quite the experience to say the least and the please cost us about $70 usd for everything. 

leaving our bikes at the train station and sorting out the payment 

these 2 guys sleep beside us in the train, it was a very long 13 hour train ride

as we traveled south we started to see cyclo's

just out side the old city wall

one of the gates to the palace

inside the old royal palace of Hue

one of the many temples along the river 

check out the traffic, and no accidents that we saw

We arrived in the afternoon and found a cheap place to stay near the train station facing the river, loads of place to stay plus it was the start of the Hue festival. First thing we notice it's an old city but what stood out was the girls wearing Ao dai, traditional Vietnamese dresses. Main attraction is the old palace,  spent a day seeing it and the last day enjoying the Hue festival with loads of things to see and do plus they had a few of beer tents.

we discovered a new delight, Che (cold sweat milk with loads  mixed beans and jelly)

never get tired of these banh mi sandwiches, this was the best one to date, and only cost 0.50 cents  with fried egg

bike parking outside the market

mask, almost every Vietnamese girl riding a scooter wears them

long sleeves even in the hottest days and again, every girl ride a scooter wears them

cute helmets they wear but I wonder how safe they are

Hue is a great little city with loads of stuff that keep us busy, looking forward to returning some day. Next we are riding the Hai van pass to Hoi an, wish us luck.