Travel blogs are things that I barely new existed before we began our trip. I would read a few here and there when we were researching our travel itinerary, but only bits and pieces. Now the random blogs of unknown people have become a valuable source of information. Just search for a place on the internet and instantly dozens of travel blogs pop up with strangers personal experiences. Some are not so eloquently done, like the tasteless rants of a twenty something on spring break in Thailand who talks more of booze and boobs than the culture and scenery, but hopefully he will post some photos which are always helpful. More entertaining and often more informative are the blogs of the people we have met on our trip. It may seem weird to routinely check someone else's travel blog while you are doing your own traveling, but its nice to know that you have a friend out there experiencing some of the same ups and downs. One of them is Maggie's blog. We met her and her husband early in our travels and now they are a couple countries ahead of us. While reading one of her posts she described a bus ride from Hoi An to Hue as jaw dropping and one that should be done slowly to take in all the views. She is a seasoned traveler and so I took her words to heart and that's how we ended up on another motorbike, this time to Hai Van pass.
Hai Van pass runs through the Truong Son Mountains and connects Hoi An to the city of Hue. Upon doing more research (reading more travel blogs) we found that this is one of the most scenic drives in Vietnam and one often traversed by cycle tourists. They have built a four mile long tunnel through the mountain leaving the pass road much less traveled and ideal for a motorbike ride.
It was a chilly day so we bundled up and headed east from Hoi An to meet up with the coast road that runs all the way to Danang and then on to Hai Van Pass.
We turned off the main road to see what we could find and ran into a group of kids and this guy who jokingly took Pete's cigarettes from him, but gave them back to him later (with only one left) because they tasted bad. He was a menthol man.
We stopped for lunch in Danang and had a hot pot, which is a communal bowl of soup. It comes with raw vegetables and meat that you add to bowl of broth that is placed on a burner. It cooks while you wait. It's the perfect meal on a chilly day.
China Beach. Where the American soldiers took their leave during the Vietnam war.
When you don't have a pick-up truck....
Laughable...but at least our heads were warm.....
Going up......
The train we will take when we leave Hoi An.
Coming down....
Comforting......
Another awesome bike ride. Thanks Maggie!
Natasha