It took to me a long time to learn and accept the fact that Hue is pronounced "way". Once I did, it opened up a whole world of lame rhymes and puns that provided unlimited entertainment for me. The drive from Hoi An to Hue was unexpectedly amazing. We left after breakfast and passed through these great sandy villages before reaching the coast.

We stopped at the Marble Mountains near the city of Danang. We parked and had to pay a small entrance fee before walking up hundreds of steps to get to the top. It was well worth it because it was incredibly beautiful up there. There were pagodas, ponds and beautiful gardens.

I walked around by myself and then found one of the Canadians and the English woman talking to some monks. We bumped into one of the guys in our group and he pointed to a path. He told us to follow it and "prepare to be amazed". We walked down the path and found a cave with sculptures and light shining through the holes in the top. It was amazing.

We checked out some more stuff and then headed back down to meet with the rest of the group well after the time we were supposed to be back. At the bottom, there were hundreds of marble statues and some were in the process of being made. We reluctantly got back on the bus for the rest of the trip to Hue.

But then we reached the Hai Van Pass. With its sharp curves and mountains on one side and steep cliffs down to the ocean on the other side, it is Vietnam's answer to California's Highway 1. I have have to admit, it's even more beautiful than Highway 1. The views are incredible. We stopped at the top where it was very windy and we were attacked by women vendors. I got away from them as quickly as possible and took pictures and walked through an old fort. Even though it was a fairly clear day, the views are better on the way up, rather than at the very top.

The way down was also great as we drove by streams and waterfalls tumbling through the greenery down the side of the mountain. We passed by charming villages, mountains and rice paddies until we arrived in Hue in the early afternoon.

I spent the second day with the same guide but this time in Da Nang and Hoi An. Da Nang can be reached from Hue by way of the new German tunnel and is the home of Marble Mountain. At the base of which are many marble factories, the largest of which I bought some carved lanterns. Wow the detail and craftsmanship is amazing. On the top of Marble Mountain is a pagoda and hidden temple in the caves. My guide could walk through the caves no problem, but I was constantly ducking to avoiding banging my head. Of course this led to much laughter from other people (haha short people) that were in the caves. I tried to get a laughing soldier to take a foto with me but no deal. I think he was very afraid to stand by the 'giant'. My guide told me that they liked the 'decorations' on my shirt. Funny!

I saw some amazing silk embroidery art work, so I visited the factory where they made everything from the silk (yup from the worms) to the amazing artists recreating the pictures from a photo or whatever.

After lunch we went to Hoi An to see the old colonial houses of the Japanese and Chinese traders. One family operates there house as a tourist stop and will take a tea with visitors and show them the house. It was very nice. To arrive to the house we crossed the Chua Cau or the Japanese bridge housing a tiny temple and guarded by a pair of monkey's. The Japanese built the bridge in the 17th century to trade with Vietnamese and Chinese on the other side of the river.

Desayuno en el hotel.

A la hora convenida, traslado al aeropuerto de Da Nang donde procederán a facturar su equipaje y recoger sus tarjetas de embarque.

Since I had discussed renting a motorbike from the hotel staff the night before, I thought there would be no legwork involved in renting a motorbike.  I was wrong.  The new guy at the front desk said none were available.  Thanks.  So, I got a ride to downtown and went the bar I had been drinking at on the previous night.  Closed.  I eat and go back 30 minutes later..still closed.  I try Christie's and they said then can rent me one for 100,000 vnd a day, which is a bit more than I would have liked and after sorting through some passport details with the hotel, hopped on the bike and set out.

On the way out of town, I stopped at the Cham Museum, which was a bit overpriced, but lovely nonetheless.  Guides are available for tours, but you're fine either with a guidebook that you can buy at the gate, or even with nothing, unless you are extremely interested. 

10K into my journey I came upon the Marble Mountains, which are five limestone mountains that are named after the elements:  fire, water, etc.  Being coaxed by many women (older women) on motorbikes to have you park at their shop for free, and, in exchange you will peruse their sculptures, I decided to do it.  Hey, I didn't agree to buy anything.  The mountians are pretty beautiful and full of caves and pagodas to explore.  The stair climb may be heavy for the out of shaper, but all the areas are relatively close together.  In one of the caves, you can climb to the top and get a decent view of the waterside.

After the long journey back I decided to unwind with a massage.  I did not pick a good place, and we'll leave it at that.  Da Nang at night is somewhat dead, or maybe I was out of the loop, but I met up with some other expats and ended up at the same two bars I had been at two days prior.  As I was walking back though the empty streets (due to the holiday the next day) of Da Nang at about 11:30, I thought I may have had to walk all the way back to my hotel, which was a good 3 or 4 kilometers.  All of a sudden a man who spoke worse English than I Vietnamese picked me up and took me back.  When I offered to pay, he declined.  That man just gave Da Nang a good name.

Arrived late in Da Nang and got a bargained motorbike ride to the hotel.  Set off on foot for a couple drinks, and by the time I reached Tran Phu, where to my knowledge, is where most of the bars are located, I was approached my a man on a motorbike saying that Christie's and some other bar were closed.  I looked at my watch, and noticed that it was 10:30.  I assumed this was hogwash, but the man pointed it out and seemed insistent, so I obliged when he offered to take me to another bar for free.  Now, I was half-assuming it wouldn't be a traditional bar, if you know what I mean, but I was proved wrong when the place turned out to be decent.  I enjoyed some drinks with some new Scottish friends and decided that I would be renting a motorbike and would drive myself to Hoi An.

Desayuno en el hotel.

Por la mañana, a la hora convenida, traslado al aeropuerto de Hanoi donde procederán a facturar su equipaje y recoger sus tarjetas de embarque.

Salida en vuelo regular de la compañía Vietnam Airlines, VN-315, a las 10.20 horas destino Da Nang.

Llegada a Da Nang a las 11.35 horas y traslado por carretera hasta Hoi An, ciudad declarada Patrimonio de la Humanidad por la UNESCO.