Hue Hotels
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Hanoi to Hue
Entry 27 of 63 | show all | print this entry |
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Overnight bus to Hue, our new found friends Blake and Matt were to join us on this very very loooooooong journey. After putting the world to rights and deciding our place in the world and how we would achieve this, we all fell asleep. After a few hours the bus stopped to drop off some fellow travelers and we all decided to jump off and find a bush to water. However being a girl, Nic needed to find a larger bush to hide her indiscretion and her dignity....there was a distinct lack so ...down a long track to a very dark corner. Mid flow and the bus began to leave, missing 5 passengers and complete with all our luggage....we were in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night???!!!
Quick shake, trousers up, holding them up, running awkwardly in ill fitting flip flops, shouting stop in a blurry of panic!!! Our saving grace was Richard who was, very luckily for us, still on the bus and stopped the driver. We very breathlessly climbed aboard the bus under the glaring eye of the driver who was not amused. The rest of the journey was spent controlling the pelvic muscles.
8:00am and we arrive in Hue. Tired, hungry, stinking and aching from our uncomfortable seats which were our chastising beds......nothing prepared us for the frenzied of hawkers baying for our business, money and possibly blood! Matt took a distinct dislike to one of them who seemingly did not have the word NO in his vocab, and continued to touch Matt on the shoulder trying to befriend him.....this did not work and Matt reacted by saying "Take your hands off me young fellow and understand that I mean NO" or words to that effect. We shook them off and did a little shopping around and finally settled on the Sports Hotel. Quick shower, a change of clothes and off in search for breakfast. The DMZ cafe on the corner was just what we needed and after a good and cheap feed a discussion was had about the mode of transport for that day. Blake became very excited at the prospect of hiring mopeds. This struck the fear of god into Nic as the last time she got on a moped was when she was a girl and promptly fell off it! The boys all put the pressure on and she cracked.
After a few wobbly moments which could be likened to a new born calf trying to control its legs.... Nic finally found her balance and the ride took flight. Out into the countryside, guessing our direction and trying to follow the Lonely Planet vague map.
Whilst riding through the villages and dirt tracks passing at a leisurely place, children called out "hello" and waved with beaming smiles whilst standing amongst rubble with bearly a stitch of clothing on. People beckoning us to stop and sit with them. Unfortunately Pat was only stopping if he found bia hoi. This was a local brew costing 10p per glass...as it wasn't that strong it was safe to assume a few glasses would allow us to drive relatively safely to our destination and back.
Finally, Pat spots at a shack at the side of the road selling the wondrous tipple, brakes were quickly applied by the rest of us, and smiling faces scurried to make us feel at home.
Firstly and most importantly the beer was ordered, price haggled and agreed. First sips taken, a joyous exhalement of approval, reclining back in our seats......perfection. A couple of men with children were also sampling the local delights and were happy to help us enjoy more. Out came raw squid and placed in front of Pat. The men gestured as to how Pat should devour this animal with their own plate of cold raw squid. Pat attempted and became covered in congealed ink...it took some getting off. One gentleman in particular had a young boy of about 3 with him, whilst his attention was focused on us, the young boy saw his opportunity, swiped the half pint glass of beer and necked it with stealth precision that would have made any alcoholic proud! As Nic started to laugh the man realised and snatched the glass back giving the child a stern look that had a hint of "thats ma boy" the boy wiped his mouth with his arm and quickly joined the other children who were playing nearby. Pat took out the camera to catch the squid incident, to then find that the children were eager to pose for the camera. Check out the little guy who hasn't quite grasped the victory sign.....this to them actually stands for smile which is why they all do it in photos.
As the sun began to set we were heading out toward the beach, wind in our hair and splattered bugs in our teeth. We decided that we had ridden too far past the beach, so the ride turned and headed back......only three arrived at the beach? After 45 minutes of deliberating waiting and backtracking we decided that in the dusk they must have slipped by us and would be waiting at the DMZ bar for us to return. By this point darkness had fallen and in the distance the faint flash and rumble of a thunderstorm was approaching. We headed back....to find they were not there! (biking in the dark is a very frightening experience....especially when many things on the road are not lit and there are no street lights)
Blake although trying to hold on to his cool was becoming increasingly distraught at the possibility of something terrible happening to his brother from another mother. We were all getting a little concerned. However, we ordered some drinks to ease the pain and waited wide eyed to see them return......which they did and Matt was not flavour of the month in Blake's eyes.
The next day and a 6:00am start for the DMZ tour booked the previous day. This was to take us to the Ho Chi Minh trail, which was now a highway, the mountains and fields where the helicopters waited to take flight and the Demilitarised Zone. This would have been a good trip if the sights were a little closer together. The trip involved a lot of traveling and not a lot of time in the places we stopped. However, it was very interesting to see the pictures and read the captions below, a man stood ahead of us holding a tray. As we approached we could see that the tray was filled with dog tags of missing / dead soldiers ....... and he was selling them along with spent bullets and badges. Not sure we felt comfortable with the thought of carrying a bullet that could have killed someone or a dog tag that belonged to a dead man. Blank the mind then off to the Vinh Moc Tunnels where people hid during the war. These were very tight and dark. Pat braved them for a short while but had to leave. We proceeded into the tunnels to find family rooms that would have contained 3-5 people which were no bigger than 4ft 6" high and 3ft 6" wide!!! This is where they slept, ate and did there general living. They had a hospital in there not much bigger than the living rooms where 17 children were born, a kitchen and most importantly a meeting room which also doubled as a cinema. There was no ventilation when the tunnels were first dug, so they were very hot. However a bomb hit the ground near the tunnels and so they dug through to this point to create ventilation....clever.
The feeling of the day was a sombre one as you think about what many of the people suffered and endured and still live with today. We are definitely a very lucky race to have the freedom that we have.
Back to the DMZ pub for dinner and drinks. Drinking then consumed us all in the form of a very dangerous drinking game which was played 3 times and eventually ended at 2am. Nic didn't get drunk as she was on antibiotics (lucky escape) and played the role of moderator.
The next day we caught the bus to Hoi An at 8:30, leaving Matt and Blake in bed to nurse their hang overs and catch the later bus. Unfortunately we had a delay and our bus did not leave until 11:30am much to Pats annoyance.
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