Hue, Da Nang and An Bang

We arrived in Hue. Tired from the overnight train. The train was fine, mostly empty. We chose to take sleeper seats rather than a sleeping berth. This was because berths in Vietnam were in groups of six. Our last long sleeper in India with Four Berths taught us that if you share your berths with a 7-year-old Spiderman you will not get much sleep. Not convinced that a six berth in Vietnam is going to be an improvement on a four berth containing a small superhero, we opted to try the chairs.

I didn’t sleep much. The lights stay on brightly. I was wired. Like a monkey with his fingers in a socket. I knew sleep would come but it wouldn’t be until around three, and we were due off the train at around seven. It was going to be a long night. I got out my paints and tried a quick watercolour. At least there was plenty of room. Our carriage was mainly empty so you were able to try all manner of sleeping positions. Freely available blankets helped to cushion your head, and to try and keep the armrests from working their way into your spine.

Having tumbled off the train in Hue. We decided to walk into the Walled City. We first grabbed a coffee before moving on to find some breakfast. Finally arriving at our homestay, we found the room available.

We had chosen a homestay around 100 meters from the old city walls. It wasn’t too close to the entrance gate, however. By the time we had found the ticket office, we had already walked a quarter of the perimeter. Students continue to be everywhere making photos for their New Year Portfolios.

Size-wise the ancient Imperial city of Hue is much smaller than it was in the 1940’s. After the last Emperor of Hue abdicated, a war or two left the site in a mess. The Vietnamese embraced the challenge and rebuilt and restored a number of the original buildings. They are beautiful and well worth descending from the train as it hurtles towards Da Nang.

There are also other sites in the area well worth your time. The following morning we hired a scooter and headed out of the city toward the beach. We took in Lang Khai Dinh on the way. Mausoleums in Vietnam are an elaborate affair. This one was particularly beautiful. Deciding to forgive it the Eleventy Billion steep steps up from the road. Face to face with the stone warriors. Installed as protection in the mezzanine staircase area. Wonderfully expressive faces. They look like they are alert. Keeping an eye on you as you visit. Ever watchful, just as intended. I adored them and their elephants.
The Mausoleum itself was in three areas, of which only two were open to the public when we visited. The decorations are extraordinary. We learned quite early on, temple decorations are made from glazed broken china pieces. This is no exception. I particularly adored the frescos in the first hall depicting the seasons.

Behind the door into the second room if you look carefully you will find flowers made from broken rice spoons. It’s a wonderful celebration of life. Assembled at speed but finished with an amazing level of detail. It’s worth a visit. Afterwards we ‘Pitstopped’ for a Vietnamese coffee, Black hot and with a dash of sugar it has quickly become a diet staple for us whilst in the country.

Hopping back on our Honda Wave we headed out to the beach. Surely such a beautiful imperial city at the side of a buzzing modern city would have a beautiful cosmopolitan beachfront?

I have to advise that this is not the case. The coastline is indeed beautiful. But the amenities washed away by the Typhoon at the end of 2024? Or perhaps we were too early in the season? Either way, the area around Thuan An was a ghost town. It looked like there used to be a promenade – but washed away in places. The beach itself is quite interesting if you like to beach comb. So much broken pottery. I wonder why?
Ever hopeful we moved south. Zipping through large villages. Treated to beautiful paddyfield vistas on our right but on our left we became aware that the access to the beach had disappeared. In its place was a bank of shrines………which went on for miles. (Nghia Trang Liet Sy Xa Phu Hai)

Zipping up the roads in between we found that these were elaborate family graves. Oddly the beach remained powdery and pristine on the other side. Somehow access to the beach through a graveyard didn’t seem right. We took the beach road and with the sea now on our left and the shrines on our right we expected the family shrines to finish, but they didn’t. They continued to appear even in the less well-tended areas of undergrowth – it was all extremely odd to a Western European.

Eventually, we stopped at Phu Loc and having finished a couple of cokes whilst sitting on tiny plastic chairs, we hopped back on the bike and looped back to Hue. A ‘Mario Cart’ type crossing of the city’s road network and we found ourselves heading back. Heading towards the huge Vietnam flag, visible for a mile or so, to mark the old citadel.

Hue was the place where my Asian Food-hating husband finally mastered the Chopsticks. He learned to put Soy Sauce on everything. We decided to start eating with the locals, where the beer was cheaper. Here his favorite food turned out to be Beef and Pak Choi!!
Watching the water rats busy in the local lily pond. Being eaten by something bitey. Although we don’t think it was mosquitoes. Hue was where I left my Jeans and Sweat-top I had bought in Hanoi for the Hia Giang loop.

The sun had come out – it was warm and it seemed heading south had really worked to be a great idea.

We moved out of Hue by train. We had read that the train journey between Da Nang and Hue was one of the most picturesque in the whole of Vietnam. I think it’s very pretty. The way the train hugs the coastline as it comes into Da Nang. I am not sure it’s worth taking the exceptionally slow train to experience it. There are better train rides in the world.
It kinda set the tone. Harrassed by Taxi drivers whilst we set up our Grab App, but delivered safely at our hotel. Delighted to discover that the Dragon Hotel lived up to its name. We had a perfect view on the first night of the Friday night’s fire and water show. So close, I was surprised we didn’t feel the heat of the fire.

If you have read any of our Blogs you will know that we are not fans of cities, I didn’t like Da Nang from the outset. There was no need for me to be so negative. It was fine. The city was fine, the beach was fine – it was all fine but I wanted more. I wanted to find something which ‘knocked my socks off’. We weren’t going to find it here. With the ‘must see’ items including a Disney-esq theme park, every bone in my body was telling me we were not in the right place. Everything we wanted to do in the area we could do from Hoi An. We needed to move and so we booked a bus out of town.

The views of Da Nang at night were reminiscent of Hong Kong in the early 1990s. When not all the buildings were lit up at night. The LED displays in Da Nang are something to wonder at. Particularly, if you have not travelled to too many cities in Asia. I thoroughly enjoy a moving ‘film’ on the side of a building at night. Five stars if it includes a whale!

With Tet fast approaching we booked in for five nights at the Golden Bamboo in An Bang, Hoi An. We arrived in Hoi An on a bus from Da Nang which had picked us up an hour late and just an hour later had deposited us in Hoi An with everything we owned soaking wet. No idea why or how. We were later to discover that Da Nang is only about 30 minutes north of Hoi An so why the bus took so long remains a mystery. Our tip here is to take a Grab its only a few £’s more and will deposit you at your hotel.

An Bang beach was sunny but windy. There was talk going around that the weather was about to change. It seemed I had done it again, brought the UK weather with me and was about to ruin their New Year celebrations. I began wishing I hadn’t left my snuggly sweatshirt and jeans in Hue.

The hotel we chose was wonderful, I loved the room, bathroom, facilities, its closeness to the beach and the beautiful balcony. I even forgave the Cockrel, resident close by, his morning renditions of ‘Here Comes the Sun’.
Everything closed down for Tet, the wind picked up and brought in a heavy drenching rain overnight. Our beautiful room was in the roof and as such we got to hear every moan and groan of the roof. We spent a few quiet days in An Bang, Gearing up to be a busy time of year for me, so I had some ‘work’ to do. Carl walked the beach. Suitably sandblasted in the process. Strange for me to admit, but we were delighted to find that the hotel also provided three TV channels showing English speaking Hollywood blockbusters. Delicious food in local restaurants provided an early supper and then a blockbuster. Hiding from the weather. We never made it to Hoi An in the evening, it just wasn’t very inviting to leave the hotel.

We did however go a bit Tourist. We booked an afternoon tour with Get My Guide. I signed us up for lantern making, a coconut boat trip and a cooking class. What a wonderful afternoon we had. I was frozen for most of the afternoon. Not having any appropriately warm clothing I was avoiding the problem. Ever confident that the weather would return.

Fully expecting a large lump of male moaning about my choice of afternoon activity. Instead, it turned out to be a revelation. It seems that the best way to cure an Asian food phobia is to embark on a cooking class. You can try the same class with Phu Lanh Travel, or book via the App. I now have a Husband fully signed up for the local food. Still no Fish, eggs or shellfish but now he knows what goes into the food he’s much happier. In just three weeks I have a chopstick using, Vietnam Food trying, full time flipflop wearer. I am beginning to wonder where my husband went.

We loved the crazy karaoke and the fireworks which embody the Vietnamese New Year. The whole event seems so crazy and yet completely family-centred – it’s lovely.

The weather app told us that the good weather was coming back. We extended our stay by three days.

The noise of the rain we had experienced during Tet, was now been replaced by an iguana in the roof cavity. Those of you who have read our diary from Sri Lanka will know this is not our first Iguana rodeo. However, we still don’t have a solution to the tap-dancing problem. In Sri Lanka we found ourselves tapping the roof with an extendable walking pole. Here in Vietnam, the lizards are much smaller but still sound like they are trying to break in through the patio doors – which is a bit scary as you appear from REM sleep. In Vietnam, the answer was a flipflop repeatedly thrown at the ceiling. It didn’t work but made us feel a bit more in control.

We hired a Honda Wave and drove. Back through Da Nang and up into the Hai Van Pass. It’s not the Ha Giang Loop by any stretch of the imagination but it’s a fabulous driving road and most definitely worth a ride. The ‘Gates’ at the top of the climb had an interesting, bullet-hole-riddled, history. We finished our trip up with vegetable noodles and coffee with just the best view.

We kept the Honda and visited the Marble Hills, the following day. More like a large set of caves on the side of the main Da Nang to Hoi An road. The caves are all Buddhist shrines and all are an oasis of tranquillity – despite the other tourists about. We will admit to taking the lift up, and the stairs down. Having paid for ‘all the caves’ we were very surprised that the Dong Am Phu cave you had to pay again for. After three hours I’ll admit I was done with caves and we let that one go. Looking for something to take my breath away. I wasn’t expecting it to be the stairs. We did however follow the beach road past An Bang and to where it runs out.

There’s a strange feel to a lot of the areas of the highway. There are a lot of abandoned buildings in this area. Huge beach complexes in various stages of completion. Abandoned to the elements. I don’t know how true it is. But we were advised that it has something to do with the investment of funds. A long-term strategy reflecting how difficult it is to get funds out of the country. But who knows for sure?

Five days in but yet to actually visit Hoi An we made a decision to stay in the centre of Hoi An for a night and catch the overnight coach to Da Nang from there. We also were advised that our return flight from Bangkok had been cancelled. Patiently navigating the rebooking process home to Heathrow rather than Gatwick. Still two months away. Still on the ‘no plan’, plan.