The Beautiful Way to Hue

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.