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Hai Van Pass and that unexploded ordinance
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Our tour bus departs Hoi An for the most scenic drive in Vietnam, the curvy Hai Van Pass that connects Danang and Hue. Just outside of Danang, we make a quick side trip and travel down a country road lined with itty-bitty houses that proudly showcase giant chunks of white marble in their yards. I don't know if these are sub-contractors for the nearby marble factory or if they've brought home work from the office.
The road ends inside the gated yard of a large marble factory. The yard is brimming with white marble sculptures in all phases of production. Some are being chiseled by noisy power tools while others are being sanded and polished by hand.
Inside the showroom, there seems to be one clerk for every customer and they stick to you like glue. Lauren and I purchase two marble candle holders priced at $55 each. I offer $100 for 2; the clerk readily agrees if I pay her $5 cash on the side... An odd bargain given that I only saved $5. I'm not very good at this bargaining stuff but everyone is returning to the bus and so I make the deal.
The bus returns to the road and throughout the steep climbs and hair-pin turns we're provided with a visual feast that keeps us distracted from any thoughts of car sickness! I'm thankful that the bus is an automatic and delight in the views when we see the bowl-shaped bay of Danang, ironically a leper colony - you know you're a tourist when you're excited to see a leper colony! Nearby is Red Beach, where the first U.S. Marines came ashore in 1965.
We reach the crest of the Hai Van Pass after an hour. The pass is overcast and is true to its' name, Hai Van means 'Pass of the Ocean Clouds,' since the peak of the mountain reaches to the clouds while its foot extends to the South China Sea.
The pass creates an obvious boundary between North and South Vietnam. A brim reminder of their turmoil sits along the road as fortifications dot the hillside. They were built by the French and later used by the Americans during the Vietnam war. There is a great deal of unexploded ordinance in the area but the vendors keep Lauren and I from leaving the bus.
From the pass, our bus descends into a sequence of valleys and lagoons. We pass a few people who are washing their cars in the faucets and hoses that line the highway using water naturally supplied by the powerful mountain streams.
The village of Lang Co is a sleepy beach town that sits upon a giant spit of land.
The longest tunnel in Southeast Asia, the Hai Van Tunnel can be found here. Just under 4-miles, this created a direct route between Hue and Danang.
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| 11. | Hai Van Pass and that unexploded ordinance - Hue, Vietnam Jan 15, 2008 (  9 ) |
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