Bus rides and a half day in Hue
We checked-out of our hotel and got on another Vietnam tourist bus from our package to go up the coast a little. The bus was small with all of our luggage shoved in the front. The ac didn't work (like we were told it would) but with the windows down it wasn't too bad. The stretch from Hoi An to Hue is supposed to be the most scenic on the coast so it was good we were doing it in the light.
We stopped at Marble Mountain along the way, which is this huge rock that pokes out of the flat land. It was pretty interesting and there were some similar mountains nearby. We didn't really go up it but just walked around near the souvenir stands for 15 minutes. The next stop was some big desserted beach for half an hour that was pretty scenic.
When we got to Hue, we left our bags at the bus agency and had some soup for lunch. We walked across to the other side of the city to go to the old palace. It was used for a couple of centuries but was bombed heavily by the US in the war. As a result, there pretty much was nothing there. They had the throne and the first 2 buildings but the whole palace area was just empty. You could climb up some steps and stand on some rocks that were the foundation but that was it of the main palace buildings. For the most part there wasn't much to see but we kept our visting palaces in every country we have gone to.
We hiked back across the city and had some dinner. We got back on the bus around 6pm. It was the worst bus ride of the whole trip. The air didn't work and when it rained, we both got wet from it leaking. Some lady was sleeping in the aisle so I couldn't put my legs anywhere. We had our mandatory stops in the middle of the night (one at 2 in the morning) where they try to force us out of the bus to get money from us. It was a long bus ride.
Steve
