Central Vietnam

Full moon lantern festival, Hoi An

Hue

We flew from Hanoi to Hue because we found flying to be affordable and ridiculously quicker than train or bus and we wanted to spend as much time exploring, rather than transporting. Hue is much more relaxing than Hanoi. We stayed in a boutique hotel just on the outskirts of the tourist area. One of the perks of booking often through Hotels.com is that we get "secret deals" and can afford otherwise expensive places for well within our $20 per night budget. This place was spectacular. We were greeted with fresh fruit juice and sliced fruits and welcomed each morning with a cooked to order breakfast and Vietnamese coffee. I can't remember if we spoke about Vietnamese coffee in the previous blog, but we are addicted. It's the best coffee yet. Do yourself a favor, head out to the nearest Vietnamese restaurant or grocery store and get yourself a cup. Hot or cold, they are both incredibly delicious.

Hue has a night market, along the river, but it's terribly dull and not worth the effort. Instead, may we suggest, hanging out at the large supermarket. We are totally serious. This is one of my absolute favorite things to do in a new city, less so Jason's. I can spend hours in grocery stores, just looking at all the different foods. The one in Hue is several floors and is a one-stop shop for all your food, beverage, household and clothing needs. After working up an appetite shopping you can eat at Lotteria, a fast food joint. We ate here once and enjoyed freshly made chicken tender sandwiches with fries and a soda. Sometimes this is all you need to put a smile on your face.

We began our first full day by renting a scooter and headed out to see the tombs of emperors. We had pulled to the side of the road to check our map, thinking we were lost, a kindly gentleman pulled over and offered to lead us to the two tombs we wanted to see, free of charge because he'd like to practice his English. We were very clear that we were not paying for his services and if at the end of the free tour he asked for money, we in fact wouldn't give him any. He said he did not expect any money and we were on our way. We weren't lost either, as it turns out. The most economical way to see the tombs and Citadel is to by the combination ticket, which gives you one day to tour two tombs and the Citadel. There are actually seven tombs, so you get to chose two, or by a different combo pass.

The Imperial tomb of Khai Dinh is the youngest and most magnificent in regards to architecture, art and imported materials. Khan Dinh, a puppet figurehead of the French colonial rulers, asked the French to tax the Vietnamese people roughly 33%, in large part to fund his final resting place. His goal, to overshadow the other six tombs. Khan Dinh was viewed as a sell-out by his countrymen. He didn't like people who didn't agree with him and would seek them out, forcing most into exile, while beheading many of their followers.

Khai Dinh tomb

The tomb really is gaudy. The place oozes with self-importance and over indulgence. Khan Dinh was a narcissist and it drips from every corner of this property. He ruled for only 9 years. His tomb took 11 years to construct.

The Imperial tomb of Minh Mang is set on a large park like property. The site is home to 40 structures, including ponds, pavilions and temples. It's relaxing and welcoming here. Minh Mang was a man for his people and was a strong opponent to French involvement in Vietnam. The gate to the small hill, in which he is buried, was locked with a small placard stating is it opened one day per year, on the anniversary of his death. The story, as told by our quasi-tour guide, is that the emperors body was snuck into the hill through tunnels, as grave robbing was a popular activity at that time. Once his body was placed in its final resting spot, the tunnel was collapsed with the workers inside so as to keep his whereabouts absolutely hidden from public knowledge.

Minh Mang's tomb is somewhere behind the door at the top of the stairs, opened once per year, on the anniversary of his death.

Some of the many structures at The Imperial Tomb of Minh Mang

Both tombs are a bit out of the city and were a bit difficult to find. There are many tours or drivers you can hire.

At the end of our tomb hopping we followed the man back to his home for tea. It is here that we listened as he spoke about his experiences, as a child, during The American War. His family farm was near to the base of two mountains, the tops of which were inhabited by American and South Vietnamese soldiers who would periodically unleash on the Northern Vietnamese soldiers below. He remembers bombings and gun shots. He speaks highly of the American soldiers and believes that what they were trying to do, save the south from a Communist regime, was a legitimate cause. He comments that school is expensive and that many families can not afford to send their kids to school. He also comments that the Chinese are slowly invading from the North, and aren't doing it with kindness. We thanked him for his assistance, his stories and tea and made to leave. We had observed this man to ride a nice, new scooter, he wore nice clothes and gold jewelry, so when he asked us for $13 to help buy books for his kids, we reminded him that we had been very clear that we weren't going to pay for his services, that in fact, they were not needed. We offered him $2, he shook his head disapprovingly, took the money and we left.

We had saved fast food as our treat today and headed to Lotteria with giddiness. We topped off our meal with soft-serve ice cream and headed to the Citadel, or Imperial City and Palace, allowing about 1.5 hours before sunset and thus, closing time. This place is extensive and we did not allow enough time, not realizing how magnificent it is. The Battle of Hue was one of the bloodiest and longest battles of the entire war, leaving more than 5,000 civilians dead and the city destroyed. Early in the battle, American soldiers had been ordered to not to bomb or shell the city as to protect the historical sites, but as the fighting increased, as well as our realization that we were going to lose this war, the ban was slowly lifted and in the end, out of the 160 buildings within the Imperial City only 10 remained.

One of the structures at the Imperial City

The grounds are massive and strategically laid out. It's peaceful here and we can only imagine how beautiful it was when inhabited by the imperial family and all their staff. Do yourself a favor and allow several hours to really do it justice.

We found Hue to be a nice city and you can see and do a lot in just a few days. The food, we found to be bland here. Our best meal was in fact Indian food. From Hue we took a bus to Da Nang. They really like their sleeper buses in Vietnam and although we were assured we would be on a sitting bus, we were dropped off in a random parking lot with a sleeper bus. They give seat preferences to the locals, who enjoy being on the bottom bunk, as these are much easier to get in and out of. If you are taller than 5'9'' you may find yourself awakening your inner contortionist to get into your seat.

Da Nang

Da Nang is a newly discovered beach getaway. We stayed in the beach area and if we return here, we will stay in the city. There aren't as many affordable eateries on this side, but just over the bridge, in the city there's a super hip vibe. We were dumped on the side of the road, by our sleeper bus, and quickly accosted by taxi drivers. Not willing to pay their ridiculous prices, we began walking. Soon enough a man on a scooter pulled over and offered to take us to our hotel, I laughed and said there's two of us, with large, heavy bags.

So much fun and cheap!

He smiled, said no problem and as if on que his friend pulled up, we hopped on and zipped out of town, over one of many bridges in this city, the most famous being the dragon bridge. The dragon bridge is magnificent and at night lights up in a variety of colors and on Saturday nights, breathes fire.

Dragon Bridge, this picture clearly doesn't do it justice...Google it.

Another bridge that lights up

We stayed in Da Nang three nights and really only needed one. We recommend staying in Hoi An, rent a scooter and come up here for a day. We checked out the largest Buddha statue in Vietnam,

Lady Buddha

and Son Tra Mountain, known to American soldiers during the war as Monkey Mountain, a prominent observation base during the war, housing two radar domes that are now run by the Vietnamese military. From here you get a cool view of the city and sea.

City view from Monkey Mountain

Another popular spot to check out is Marble Mountain. We went looking for it one day, thinking it was an enormous mountain of pillaged marble, but it's actually a random rock / mountain formation just outside of town, we drove past it several times and called it good.

If we return to Da Nang in the next five years, we won't recognize it. It's been discovered and the beach is getting built up with resorts, fancy hotels and condominiums.

Hoi An

We knew we were going to love it here when we were welcomed with smiles, iced Vietnamese coffee and kindness at our homestay. It felt like we were home.

The Moon Homestay Villa staff

Hoi An is a hodge-podge of ex-pats and locals, beach and farmland. It's easily accessible by bike, which were included, free of charge, at our homestay. Hoi An is popular for its many tailors, who can make just about anything in about 24-48 hours. The price you pay will reflect the quality of material and stitching. The sheer number of tailors is a bit overwhelming and we took advantage of the on-site tailor and splurged by having some clothes made. I splurged a bit more than Jason and was happy with three out of the four items. I was so excited to have some new clothes that actually fit, that I went a bit overboard and had a pair of jeans made, which are hideous. I didn't have the heart to reject them, and have yet to find a reason to wear them. I secretly hope they are stolen. Anyway, the experience was worth every penny (we used donation funds and for two shirts, a skirt, one pair shorts, jeans, three pairs of shorts hemmed and zippers sewn into pockets we paid less than $100). I also splurged and had a pair of leather sandals made, for $15.

Freakin' cute & comfortable

We enjoyed made to order breakfast, with iced Vietnamese coffee every morning, as well as this glorious swimming pool.

The glorious swimming pool

Not only does Hoi An have one of the raddest vibes of all the cities we've been to, it has some amazing food. Our favorite being the country pancake. It looks like an omelette but it's actually not egg but a rice batter that is filled with pork, shrimp and bean sprouts, then gently fried so that it has an outer crispiness. You then dip the rice paper tortilla thing in water to soften, then place a piece of pancake with a portion of fresh greens with some sauce and enjoy with orgasmic delight. Yes, it is that good.

Country Pancake at Bon Restaurant

Another famous dish here is the Cau Lau. We tried this at two different restaurants, our favorite is served up at Bon Restaurant. Also at Bon is ice cold "fresh beer" for $0.15 a glass. Basically Bon is the best and most affordable place to eat and drink.

We lucked out and found ourselves in Hoi An on a full moon. Each month, on the full moon, the old quarter is lit with lanterns, like it was in the days before electricity. For a nominal fee, you can contribute to polluting the river with a floating candle. The government subsidizes this tradition by supplying free floating candles. We found that if you paid for a boat ride the candle was free. It's beautiful (not justified by the picture below) and incredibly romantic. We couldn't get over the fact that it's basically just floating trash, that's on fire. So we abstained from purchasing a candle, but enjoyed the view just the same.

We purchased a basic day tour to the UNESCO site, My Son, a Hindu temple complex built by the Champa, a united kingdom of various tribes of the Cham ethnic group. The Champa ruled South and Central Vietnam from the 3rd century until 1832. My Son is believed to be the longest inhabited archeological site in Indochina. Most of it was destroyed by a week long US carpet bombing rampage in August 1969. Out of the 70 structures only 18 remained. The destruction is extensive and most of what you see are piles of rubble. A number of bomb craters can still be seen.

My Son

It's well maintained, with nice walking paths and large electric carts that drive you from the entrance to very near to the first temple complex. We watched a traditional dance here that was impressively elaborate with precise hand gestures and movement. The grounds are lush, with a good size creek running through. It's impressive and we are left to imagine what it must have looked like in all its grandeur.

My Son

We stayed on the outskirts of the Old Quarter area of Hoi An which made it convenient to see the city or escape through farmland to the beach. It's an easy 15 minute bike ride through local farms out to the beach. The perfect place to cool down and relax from all the fittings and shopping in the local market.

The end.