That night while I was struggling to get comfortable, my wallet slipped out of my pocket and onto a Vietnamese man sleeping on the floor of the bus. I was blown away when he woke me to hand me my wallet back completely intact and couldn't have been more grateful. Unfortunately, the rest of the bus ride didn't go so great. We were stopped for several hours in the middle of the night only a couple of hours from Hanoi (out of a ten hour journey) in the middle of a heavy downpour. Just happy to finally be off the bus, we arrived in Hue after almost a 20 hour stint on the bus and our hotel greeted us warmly with a big smile, spotless room and a decent map of the city and its top sights. Hearty chicken noodle soup at a restaurant on our hotel block warmed us up before we wandered out into the pouring rain for a drink with Americans we met on our bus back to Hanoi.
The next morning, we left our homey hotel in search of the citadel of Hue. Constructed in 1804, the citadel is a heavily bombed and partially reconstructed complex of temples, rooms and gardens composing a former capital center of Vietnam. We toured the many secret gardens and temples under grey skies and the threat of rain. On a walk to find lunch, we found ourselves contemplating our future and were blessed with delicious and cheap chicken and rice soup with lime, chili and mint trimmings. Delicious burgers and happy hour lulled us to sleep early that evening.
The next morning, we left our homey hotel in search of the citadel of Hue. Constructed in 1804, the citadel is a heavily bombed and partially reconstructed complex of temples, rooms and gardens composing a former capital center of Vietnam. We toured the many secret gardens and temples under grey skies and the threat of rain. On a walk to find lunch, we found ourselves contemplating our future and were blessed with delicious and cheap chicken and rice soup with lime, chili and mint trimmings. Delicious burgers and happy hour lulled us to sleep early that evening.
We bused the next day past Da Nang and to Hoi An, where I excitedly viewed the pacific ocean for the first time in months. We arrived in Hoi An in the evening, passing through beautiful mountain forests, an extremely long tunnel and future resort megapolis, Da Nang, and elaborately colorful ceramic tombstones in graveyards (something lacking in Laos and Thailand) along the way. Seeing the poverty on the outskirts of these larger cities reminds me of Thailand, down to the tin and concrete shacks. However, Hoi An is shockingly different than anywhere else we've been so far. It feels newer, or at least given a few face-lifts and money fueled with hundreds of tailoring shops and jewelry stores. Relentless hassles for happy hours soured my already testy mood but Megan and, ironically, cheap beer helped improve it. We had a decent meal and watched the city darken and the lamps and colorful lanterns lit up the waterfront.
March 6th was our first full day in Hoi An we did a lot of exploring and putzing. If we weren’t in SE Asia, I would say that we were somewhere in Italy or France because of the well preserved architecture and bright yellow color on all the old town buildings. We discovered a handful of excellent stores here dedicated to differently-abled people and the poor and were more than happy to spend our money there (instead of buying a tailored suit). It feels very similar to Luang Prabang but we like this city even more because it is even better manicured and its proximity to the ocean. We ate a delicious dinner at a southwest themed restaurant called Green Chili and Megan was finally served a decent top shelf margarita with her chimi changas.
The next day was slow and steady, complete with viewing some of the cities recommended sights and afternoon tea and biscuits. The tea shop employed several deaf staff who donned the most genuine smiles I have ever witnessed. A beautiful sign in English with brush strokes of calligraphy read “Enjoy the Silence”. It was a very rewarding and relaxing hour. We traded some books for fresh stories and ate dinner at a cheap local hot spot near a large market at the edge of old town and ended the night with a Hoi An local specialty dish of shrimp dumplings with a side of locally brewed bamboo wine.
On March 8th, we packed up our bags, checked out of the hotel and rented a scooter for the day to check out the sights outside of old town. We toured through beautiful coconut groves and a riverfront fishing village before making our way to An Bang beach for the first day of full sun in Vietnam! The waves were a bit disappointing but it was a wonderful beach day nonetheless, spent enjoying good food, cold beer and refreshing dips in the clear water. I can’t describe how good it felt to be reunited with the ocean in the south China Sea; it is so rejuvenating to enjoy a good swim and be caked in salt while drying under the warm sun. It had to end in the mid afternoon so we could have an early dinner feast of chicken pho, pork BBQ skewers, crispy spring rolls and open face crunchy won-tons before catching our next sleeper bus to Nha Trang (which was on time!).