So we settled in on our overnight train and chatted with a French couple- Ben and Lucie (yes Emilie, I checked the spelling and it's def the French way).
Off the train early morning and a stroll to our hotel - Jade Hotel. This place was a sister hotel of the Charming so we knew it would be a decent stay, and Andy has his rat-bag repair kit ready to hand just in case (or just incases for you Baz)!
Greeted with fruit and towels (again!) and settled in. I didn't mention the weather- it has been raining non stop for a few days. So a very wet start to our Hue adventure! We got our bearings, some lunch and then raided the local bakery for some cakey goodness. Took the box, yes box of baked items back to the hotel and sat in away from the rain and watched 2 HBO movies (American Dreamz- it's shit and one with Sandra Bullock about 9/11-very good) until it was dinner time!
Next day we headed out (in less rain) to the old city - Citadel. The former imperial city is hidden behind a city wall that boarders the river. It was bombed quite heavily in the (American/Vietnam) war so lots of things are being reconstructed to repair damage. A great insight into Vietnamese history.
Went exploring after lunch and headed back to the hotel for some recuperating before, you guessed it- dinner! We found a great place called Nina's where food was cheap, restaurant quality and had a great atmosphere.
Next day we'd planned to hire bikes and do a cycle road trip so it was an early night back at the Jade.
Up the next morning and the sun was shining! Thank god as our first destination is around 12km away. We got ourselves saddled up and set off on the Vietnamese roads! The bikes were a bit old and rickety but we soon got used to them. Bit of a scary start as I managed to turn the wrong way into a couple of girls on a bike, but we all came away unscathed! Our plan was to cycle to all the local tombs so we could avoid any dodgy tour bus/guides, and it worked out great.
The royal tombs are around the outside of Hue and house ex rulers in beautiful surroundings.
We set off for the furthest away, the Minh Mang tomb (he ruled in 1800's) at 12KM away and travelled the the back roads of real local Hue passing through some interesting villages en route.
This is the biggest of the tombs You can't see his burial tomb but you can walk around the complex which is massive! we then hopped back in the saddle to Khai Dinh tomb (approx 3km away). Whilst en route and passing through the green rice fields and farms we stumbled across an old monastery which was well worth a look :)
Back to Khai Dinh... This place was far more elaborate in terms of decoration, smaller in land size but very impressive. After this we had a well deserved ice cream refuel.
Two tombs done we set off for our final stop- Tu Duc tomb (approx 5km) via a lunch stop. We pulled over at a local street stall where the old woman just said thank you in Vietnamese quite a lot. Could be due to the fact she'd charged us 50000 dong each for a pho dish (that's an overcharge of around 50p each).
Back on the bikes to Tu Duc and the final tomb for the day. Was great having the freedom of our bikes, navigating through the local towns and villages.
People are so friendly, they'd all give us a wave. We cycled back along the river to our hotel and to return the bikes. We had to move hotels this eve as the place was fully booked. So bikes returned, bags on back and we set off to find the Canary hotel for our last night. We headed back to Nina's for dinner (Brits abroad!) as we knew it would be ace!
Up early the next morning as we had an early train to catch to DaNang. The train was delayed by around 1hr 30 so we sat and people watched in the station and got chatting to a couple who were doing a short tour of SE Asia. They were good fun and reminded me of Dr Dale and Bob :)
On board the train to DaNang. What a cool railway journey! The train line hugs the coast so you get the most spectacular views of the East Vietnam / South China Sea on one side and the banana trees and rice fields on the other, as we neared DaNang the train ran right along the beach and you could see the waves crashing a few metres from the train! A relatively short and comfortable journey so we arrived in DaNang at around 2pm.
We grabbed a Banh Mi (local Vietnamese baguette filled with meats and other unknown but tasty treats :) for 30p each and walked to our hotel. The hotel bed size is now officially getting ridiculous, the largest so far could easily take 4 full grown adults with room to spare (no exaggeration) Once installed we headed out to the beach. DaNang has a great coastline with long sandy beaches and lots of development is taking place as it looks like it could be a popular destination.
We stopped here for a cold drink and to shelter from the heat! There are also some pretty cool bridges in DaNang...
We wanted to try another local dish so headed out to a street cafe which sold Mi Quang (mi wang). This dish is noodles, your meat of choice (or all of them if you have the special, like Andy) prawn cracker and peanuts on top with a spicy sauce. yum! Again dinner for two with beer and soft drink for less than £3- kerching!
As we'd saved a few dong on our cheap eats we went and joined the locals by our hotel and had a nighttime coffee. This time it was caphe sua da, which is Vietnamese coffee with condensed milk in the bottom and ice. Tastes amazing and far easier to drink than the straight black caphe den. In Vietnam everything is served with free tea, sometimes hot, most of the time cold. So when you order a coffee you get a coffee and tea, we never actually ordered just tea, although we've assumed that it would be served with more tea!
We decided to stay another night here as we were on our way to Hoi An, which is a short bus ride away, and there was still stuff to see locally, (DaNang gets a pretty tough wrap in guide books and on the web but it's a cool, young city with a great beachfront too). We visited the Cham Museum to see relics recovered from the My Son ancient ruins site (which we will see in Hoi An, or not if all of the good bits have been brought to DaNang!). The Cham communities lived in SE Asia thousands of years ago and the Cham ruins are famous for their temples both Hindu and Buddhist. These are known as the Vietnamese version of Angkor Wat... They're not Wat, they are their own thing covering that period of history.
We then strolled around enjoying the sunshine. As soon as we left Hue the sun appeared. Cold/wet north and hot/humid south. It was around 25-28 degrees in DaNang and gets much hotter further south!
Another street snack purchased this time tamarind... We were not too sure what it was at first but bought it anyway... Took it to a coffee shop where they informed us of our choice so we tucked in :)
Next stop is Hoi An!
Off the train early morning and a stroll to our hotel - Jade Hotel. This place was a sister hotel of the Charming so we knew it would be a decent stay, and Andy has his rat-bag repair kit ready to hand just in case (or just incases for you Baz)!
Greeted with fruit and towels (again!) and settled in. I didn't mention the weather- it has been raining non stop for a few days. So a very wet start to our Hue adventure! We got our bearings, some lunch and then raided the local bakery for some cakey goodness. Took the box, yes box of baked items back to the hotel and sat in away from the rain and watched 2 HBO movies (American Dreamz- it's shit and one with Sandra Bullock about 9/11-very good) until it was dinner time!
Next day we headed out (in less rain) to the old city - Citadel. The former imperial city is hidden behind a city wall that boarders the river. It was bombed quite heavily in the (American/Vietnam) war so lots of things are being reconstructed to repair damage. A great insight into Vietnamese history.
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| Decorative structure at citadel |
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| Citadel |
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| Citadel |
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| Citadel ... again :) |
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| Apparently they don't suit everyone... |
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| You guessed it ... citadel |
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| Oh ok, just one more of the citadel |
Went exploring after lunch and headed back to the hotel for some recuperating before, you guessed it- dinner! We found a great place called Nina's where food was cheap, restaurant quality and had a great atmosphere.
Next day we'd planned to hire bikes and do a cycle road trip so it was an early night back at the Jade.
Up the next morning and the sun was shining! Thank god as our first destination is around 12km away. We got ourselves saddled up and set off on the Vietnamese roads! The bikes were a bit old and rickety but we soon got used to them. Bit of a scary start as I managed to turn the wrong way into a couple of girls on a bike, but we all came away unscathed! Our plan was to cycle to all the local tombs so we could avoid any dodgy tour bus/guides, and it worked out great.
 |
| Extreme cycling aka one handed whilst taking a picture on Vietnamese roads = extreme for me! |
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| Alright then, cycling one handed may not be so extreme when you're cycling with a wardrobe! |
The royal tombs are around the outside of Hue and house ex rulers in beautiful surroundings.
We set off for the furthest away, the Minh Mang tomb (he ruled in 1800's) at 12KM away and travelled the the back roads of real local Hue passing through some interesting villages en route.
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| Tomb 1 - check! |
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| Wheres wally? |
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| The actual tomb is behind us behind a massive gate, so this made for a more interesting shot |
This is the biggest of the tombs You can't see his burial tomb but you can walk around the complex which is massive! we then hopped back in the saddle to Khai Dinh tomb (approx 3km away). Whilst en route and passing through the green rice fields and farms we stumbled across an old monastery which was well worth a look :)
 |
| Monestary |
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| Evil Knievel |
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| Young, fresh rice paddy |
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| Workers tending to the rice and sugar cane |
Back to Khai Dinh... This place was far more elaborate in terms of decoration, smaller in land size but very impressive. After this we had a well deserved ice cream refuel.
 |
| Tomb 2, this time it's not tomb 1 |
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| Andy made me do it... |
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| Googley eyed dragon |
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| Andy insisted on getting the most childish ice cream on the menu... |
Two tombs done we set off for our final stop- Tu Duc tomb (approx 5km) via a lunch stop. We pulled over at a local street stall where the old woman just said thank you in Vietnamese quite a lot. Could be due to the fact she'd charged us 50000 dong each for a pho dish (that's an overcharge of around 50p each).
 |
| Overpriced pho, bloody language barrier :) |
Back on the bikes to Tu Duc and the final tomb for the day. Was great having the freedom of our bikes, navigating through the local towns and villages.
 |
| Tomb 3 - looking a little worse for wear |
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| Tomb 3 |
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| Tomb 3 - finally |
People are so friendly, they'd all give us a wave. We cycled back along the river to our hotel and to return the bikes. We had to move hotels this eve as the place was fully booked. So bikes returned, bags on back and we set off to find the Canary hotel for our last night. We headed back to Nina's for dinner (Brits abroad!) as we knew it would be ace!
 |
| Posh pork scratchings served on a 'bed'of rice and green do these beat a bag of Porkys pork scratchings Al? |
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| Just incase you wanted to learn a little Vietnamese |
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| Huda beer, local Hue specialty |
Up early the next morning as we had an early train to catch to DaNang. The train was delayed by around 1hr 30 so we sat and people watched in the station and got chatting to a couple who were doing a short tour of SE Asia. They were good fun and reminded me of Dr Dale and Bob :)
On board the train to DaNang. What a cool railway journey! The train line hugs the coast so you get the most spectacular views of the East Vietnam / South China Sea on one side and the banana trees and rice fields on the other, as we neared DaNang the train ran right along the beach and you could see the waves crashing a few metres from the train! A relatively short and comfortable journey so we arrived in DaNang at around 2pm.
 |
| James you'd love this journey! |
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| Looking like an old network rail carriage! Reminds me of all those journeys to Sandwich and back on the slam door trains |
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| A little too close to the edge maybe? |
We grabbed a Banh Mi (local Vietnamese baguette filled with meats and other unknown but tasty treats :) for 30p each and walked to our hotel. The hotel bed size is now officially getting ridiculous, the largest so far could easily take 4 full grown adults with room to spare (no exaggeration) Once installed we headed out to the beach. DaNang has a great coastline with long sandy beaches and lots of development is taking place as it looks like it could be a popular destination.
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| Danang beach |
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| Looks a little like paradise (just this bit) |
We stopped here for a cold drink and to shelter from the heat! There are also some pretty cool bridges in DaNang...
 |
| Dragon bridge |
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| Funky bridge |
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| Spinny bridge |
We wanted to try another local dish so headed out to a street cafe which sold Mi Quang (mi wang). This dish is noodles, your meat of choice (or all of them if you have the special, like Andy) prawn cracker and peanuts on top with a spicy sauce. yum! Again dinner for two with beer and soft drink for less than £3- kerching!
 |
| Mi Quang - move over Pho, Mi Quang is our new favourite dish |
As we'd saved a few dong on our cheap eats we went and joined the locals by our hotel and had a nighttime coffee. This time it was caphe sua da, which is Vietnamese coffee with condensed milk in the bottom and ice. Tastes amazing and far easier to drink than the straight black caphe den. In Vietnam everything is served with free tea, sometimes hot, most of the time cold. So when you order a coffee you get a coffee and tea, we never actually ordered just tea, although we've assumed that it would be served with more tea!
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| Caphe Sua Da (black coffee with condensed milk) |
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| This is supposed to be a fighting stance - looks more like jazz hands! |
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| Camp Cham |
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| Surprised camp Cham |
Another street snack purchased this time tamarind... We were not too sure what it was at first but bought it anyway... Took it to a coffee shop where they informed us of our choice so we tucked in :)
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| Emilie Smith won the 'guess the snack'competition on Facebook (did your manky tamarind ever arrive?) |
Next stop is Hoi An!
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