Hue, Hoi An and Sleeper Bus Surprise

After the heat of Ho Chi Minh City we didn’t mind the rain when we got to Hue in central Vietnam.  We’d taken a short flight from Ho Chi Minh City to Da Nang and then a 2 hour taxi transfer the 90km north to the town of Hue.  Thrift and Trip Advisor reviews had a hand in my hotel choice in Hue, but it was nevertheless underwhelming discovering that Hue Nino Hotel was down a dark puddle-filled alleyway. Note to self: pay more attention to location. However, we were warmly welcomed and invited to take off our shoes at the entrance.  From a hygiene point of view this makes perfect sense, but a pile of worn trainers and sandals are not the most visually appealing sight on arrival.  I reminded myself that $23 for a room and breakfast is a bargain and it’s only 2 nights.

Ngo Mon Gate, the entrance to the Citadel in Hue, in the drizzling rain

Beautifully restored corridors in the Forbidden Purple City
within the Citadel

Pagoda entrance at one of the buildings in the Citadel

Famous for being the capital of the Nguyen emperors and the national capital until 1945, Hue’s prime site of interest for visitors is the large citadel built between 1804 and 1833.  A lot of the citadel was damaged by bombs in the French and American wars but some pagodas and palaces  have been restored or recreated and even in the drizzling rain we could imagine the site as a grand imperial city.  We strolled around for a few hours, dodging some very large tour groups, and decided it had been worth including in our central Vietnam itinerary.  We ate lunch at a very simple “cafe” nearby to try some local street food classics. We had bahn khaoi - rice pancakes topped with pork and shrimp and then folded in half - and also nem lui – minced pork grilled on lemongrass sticks.  You slide the pork onto a rice paper sheet, top with salad and roll up and dip into a sauce....delicious.  Fortified by lunch and the fact that it was no longer raining we jumped in a taxi and set off to see some of the tombs of the Nguyen Emperors.  Having taken a one way taxi 10km south in the countryside we were fortunate to acquire a taxi back to town...not our best thought out plan.  We’re learning along the way! I don’t think we fully appreciated Hue due to the damp and drizzle and we certainly felt ready to move on after our day of sightseeing.

Tomb of Khai Dinh, the penultimate Nguyen Emperor

Our journey from Hue to Hoi An the next day (130km south) was not what we expected! Having endured an inept and dangerous taxi driver from Da Nang Airport to Hue, we concluded a bus would be a better experience. Internet research revealed the best option was a sleeper bus from Hue to Hoi An and even though we booked a morning journey we felt sure this would be ok. At the bus office in Hue we congratulated ourselves on saving a costly taxi fare, the bus journey being a mere $5 each.  In the bus booking office we were asked, upper level or lower level and assumed we’d be on a double decker bus.   We made a number of assumptions about this journey and they were all wrong!  The sleeper bus turned out to have a sort of bunk bed arrangement, with the upper level “seats” reached by climbing up a ladder.  The sleeper bus has three rows of “beds” across the width, so the aisles are exceptionally narrow and we had to squeeze ourselves down the aisles to find our assigned beds.  There were a few other surprised Western travellers too and we all looked dubiously at the clean but cramped conditions as we found our beds and climbed in. One of our assigned beds was right at the back of the bus, where there are five bed-like seats jammed together like sardines, no space between them.  The bus was less than half full and in spite of the bus conductor insisting we couldn’t occupy another seat, we ignored him and chose window seats and settled in. Gordon took a lower level bed and I climbed up to the one above him.  Once we got going it was actually a fairly comfortable journey, but you do need to be a bit nimble getting in and out of your bed. We made good time and arrived in Hoi Ann in about 3.5 hours. I had a good view of the countryside from my top “bunk” and was grateful the aircon worked well.

Gordon in his lower level "bed" on the sleeper bus

Upper level beds!

So here we are in Hoi An, in central Vietnam.  We doubled our outlay on accommodation (compared to Hue) and are enjoying our small comfortable hotel, Hoi An River Suites...not really as grand as the name suggests, but from our riverside room we have a pleasant view of the Thu Bon River.  The ladies at reception cheerily greet us as we come and go, eager to say our names, and we are hailed as “Linda and Jordan”.  We smile back.

Thu Bon River in Hoi An, just beside our hotel

Hoi An was a busy port in the 17th century and now a UNESCO world heritage site, so there’s a lot to see packed into a small area. The pretty town is full of fabulously preserved old buildings in a grid of streets, most of which are now shops and restaurants, interspersed with pagodas and temples. The pedestrian tree-lined streets are just gorgeous at night, lit up by hundreds of brightly coloured lanterns and the town hums with tourists.  Strolling around last night, a Saturday, we wondered how many more bus loads of tourists the town can absorb.  There's a huge choice of places to eat, so we've spent a lot of time roaming around deciding on our lunch and dinner spots!

Street in Hoi an old town

Hoi An's famous 18th century Japanese bridge in the old town

We had lunch from this stand in Hoi An's old town market

Hoi An old town is full of old buildings like this

Chinese Assembly Hall in Hoi Ann old town

Lantern shop in the old town

The coast is only about 4km away so we took the hotel’s shuttle to An Bang beach. What a great beach – fine golden sand, laid back beach bars and restaurants and lots of sunbeds and umbrellas.  We could easily spend more time here.

An Bang beach near Hoi An

One morning we set off early from Hoi An to visit the ruins at My Son.  Driving through towns and villages and paddy fields we’re mindful of just how poor people are in this part of the world.  We arrived at My Son just after 7am and had the place to ourselves. The ruined Hindu temples date from 4th to 14th century and although there’s not an awful lot to see (and considerable bomb damage) we walked the site in a hour, in awe that these structures were built in such a remote area so long ago.

Ruins at My Son

We've loved the little we've seen of Vietnam on this short visit and it's an easy place to be a traveller.  The Vietnamese people are welcoming and friendly and for a country that is chaotic and crowded the tourist industry is efficient and responsive.  It's easy on the purse strings too. Definitely a country to revisit.

After 10 days in Vietnam today we’re flying to KL (2nd December).   We’ve been “on the move” in Myanmar and Vietnam for the past 3 weeks, and although we can hardly say it’s been tiring, for the next 6 days it will be good to do more ordinary things like laundry and a bit of home cooking.