Hue to Hoi An

We opted for a self organised tour in Hue. The receptionist suggested we used his brother but on at least 6 occasions asked us to keep this a secret. Capitalism is not dead in this Communist country!

Our first visit was to the Mausoleum of King Khai Dinh. The 127 step approach looked very ancient.

However, inside was a wonderfully colourful main room where porcelain had been used to good effect. An interesting component to this site was that there were photos of the last (we think) Emperor who celebrated his 40^th birthday in only 1924. 

Down the road was a shop making incense sticks. A similarly colourful display.

The speed this lady made the sticks was mesmerising. In her left hand she started with a thin stick and then progressively rolled this with the cinnamon/clay type mix using a rectangular float. In a matter of seconds she was on to the next stick.

Further down the road sandalwood was laid out to dry as a precursor to crushing and using in the incense sticks.

We visited a second mausoleum and then a pagoda before returning to our hotel via a brightly coloured dragon boat.

The operators were just as bright while they thought they could sell us something. Once that was done they were a pretty surly pair. They have a way to go before they understand tourism!

Mind you we had no such complaints with our hotel which was top drawer both in terms of the size and quality of the rooms as well as the service. The quite busy traffic was by comparison to Hanoi an absolute breeze to handle. Crossing the road was a mere hand holding exercise rather than white knuckles and shut eyes.

The courtyard area which housed the pool at one end and the restaurant the other was particularly inviting  in the evening.

We left Hue to travel by road to Hoi An which included the well know (at least in Vietnam) Hai Van Pass. As we started the climb we quickly gained views of the ocean.

We were also stopped to wait for a train passing down the mountain.

Although it was not possible to see into many of the windows it was obviously either full or the air conditioning left something to be desired. Either way these four decided roof riding was the way to go.

As we approached the pass it seemed somewhat incongruous to see a bride and groom on a platform overlooking the valley below.

What appeared even more out of place was the use of a small drone taking photos of the activity.

Needless to say this viewing point was also heavily endowed with shops so as the girls did some damage to the housekeeping I enjoyed a cup of very strong coffee. Apparently Vietnam is the third biggest producer of coffee in the world.

Our guide Bran was a buoyant character and we particularly liked the motive of his company given its alignment to our call for shared experiences.

At the bottom of the pass is Danang and a museum of artefacts going back to the 1200s. Although the museum was OK I was drawn to two maps that were viewed on the way out. The first is a map of Vietnam drawn in 1838 by Jean-Louis Taberd. This shows on the east side of the map the Paravel islands as clearly being part of Vietnam.

In a similar vein alongside was a map of China drawn up in 1904 by the Chinese which shows their perception of territory at that time. It is noteworthy that Hainan island is the Southernmost point and that the Paracel islands were not part of China. All good education (propaganda?) for Chinese visitors to the area…..

Opposite the museum was a cleverly designed dragon bridge (designed and built by the Chinese)

Just upstream and equally eye catching was this cable stayed bridge. One end of the cables was fanned out which resulted in an illusion of wires that curved. It was designed by a Finnish company and built by a Vietnamese contractor. Both bridges apparently have wonderful lighting at night.

We crossed the cable stayed bridge and travelled onto Marble mountain. Here a small township was dedicated to sculpturing marble and other stones. Fortunately the nearby mountain with its wonderful limestone caves and Buddhist heritage can no longer be used for winning material which is now brought in from a separate quarry.

The site has some large arches and caves.

As well as some pretty stunning views of the surrounding territory. The mountain plugs of limestone still abound here and are similar to those that makes Halong Bay such an attraction.

After quite a busy day it was great to get into our Hoi An hotel which was even more spacious than that in Hue. This picture does not do the room justice as it had a large porch and seating area outside which proved ideal for our evening Drambuie nightcap.