After the excitement of Hanoi it was time to move on. We bought a couple of really good value bus tickets that would take us all the way from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City which included open stops at Hue, Hoi An, Nha Trang, Dalat and Ho Chi Minh for the paultry sum of USD$35 per person! this is by far the best bargain we’ve had so far!!
We actually intended to go straight to Hoi An but after the 12 hour overnight bus ride to Hue we thought we’d stop a day and see what it had to offer. It was a lot calmer than Hanoi and had a lovely vibe about the place. It could have been the fact that it was blue skies, sunshine and smiles rather than the rain and mania we left behind in Hanoi, I’m not sure, but it was a welcome change.
We did the usual at the bus stop, ignored all the hotel touts and taxi drivers baying for business and sat and found a local cafe to get our bearings and check the trusted bible (lonely planet). We had fun ordering a coffee, non of the people spoke any english whatsoever and I ended up with a small, but very strong cup of iced cold vietnamese coffee! The locals seemed amused by my expressions though which broke the ice a bit.
We soon found out that the two locals being helpful were actually taxi drivers, or rather Xich-lo drivers(bicycle taxis), vying for our business. The smiles and talk turned sour when we tried to explain that we’d rather walk than take a taxi. Still no worries we thanked them for showing us a route on the map then left them to remonstrate amongst themselves as we trotted off into the distance.
We soon found a cheap place to stay across the river in the ‘old’ town. After a refreshing shower and some lunch we went off to explore Hue. First we had a look at the old Citadel. As with most attractions we found it a bit disappointing after the impressions we had built up. Still it was worth a visit but you did have to use your imagination a bit when walking around the old forbidden city. I guess you’ve the got Vietnam war to thank for that as most of it got bombed during the war and it was the scene of the famous battle of Hue city.
We spent the night drinking in a lively bar by the river talking with Filipe and Coqui, the chilean couple Sandra met on her 24hour bus journey from Vientianne. Next day it’s off to get suited and booted in Hoi An, suits you sir!