Hoi An to Hue

Typically when transferring from town to town it’s a non-event – we take a sleeper bus or train. It’s usually uncomfortable but manageable, but we deal with it and get to our next destination. Hoi An to Hue is just under 100 miles but 4 hours driving time, so we had quite a few more options. We could take a bus, private car, even the train is supposed to be very scenic. One other option that we discovered is by motorbike. This is where all our practice is going to be put to the test. Steph still wasn’t feeling quite up to it, so chose the “easy rider” option – sit on the back and let a local do the driving. This worked out really well for us since that way we’d have a guide that Susie and myself could follow behind. Though taking a bus would have been under $10 for the both of us, we still thought we got an excellent deal for $50 total including our guide, Giang, fuel and one-way motorbike rental. After a quick introduction to Giang, signing some paperwork, and literally no instructions beyond that, we were off.

Our trip wasn’t simply a transfer from A to B, there were some scenic stops along the way. First stop was the Marble Mountains just outside Da Nang, which at first appeared to be just a pagoda on top of a limestone mountain, but turned out to have all kinds of cool caves to see as well.

There were heaps of huge caves to check out

Quick stop at the beach in Da Nang

The highlight of the trip from Hoi An to Hue is the Hai Van Pass, with spectacular views of the bays and beaches below. This was also about the point Steph started feeling ill.

Heading up the pass

Views are starting to get good...

Made it!! Steph threw up in the bushes either right before or right after this picture

After the pass we stopped for lunch before moving on to our final stop at the Elephant Springs, where they've dammed up a river every 100 feet to make a series of pools for tourists to swim in. It was pretty cool but very crowded with what seemed like a mostly local crowd. Knowing how Asians often treat the environment, we tried to go as far upstream as possible and in the end didn't spend much time in the water. When I saw people literally lathering up and bathing in the water I was pretty much done.

Some nice views just over the pass

Lunch spot. We seem to eat in children's-size furniture a lot here.

One of the pools at Elephant Springs

The last hour or two going into Hue was either terrifying or exciting, depending on who you asked. It seemed the entire road was under construction at once, and there were a LOT of big buses and trucks to deal with. Susie and I were just following Giang, so many times had to pull off some pretty hairy moments, overtaking on the right being the most fun/terrifying.

You may notice my cool face mask. It's all the rage here, all the locals do it. 

Susie and I fighting through the traffic

Made it!