Hue to Hoi An: The Top Gear Challenge

So, you may have seen the Top Gear episode when they biked the length of Vietnam. There are plenty of people out here doing just that, but I wasn't one of them. Wes and I opted to do the short route (130km) from Hue to Hoi An taking in the Hai Van pass. We also decided that as neither of us were exactly well-established bikers (I'd ridden on for about 2 days in the Philippines and Wes had never been on one) that we'd opt for the easy rider option. We paid a couple of Vietnamese fellas the enormous sum of $40 to take us the route with us on the back.

We just sat back, took in the view, and snapped away. I've gone through the hundreds of pictures I took and here are the best.

Wes and I enjoying the journey!

The guide said this was the largest lake in Asia. The internet says otherwise.

We got caught in this storm. I told the guide that I didn't mind getting a little wet, but he insisted I wore some waterproofs. He was right.

We stopped at Elephant falls. It was pretty cool. We took a dip and had another beer. 

We did the trip with Charlotte. I honestly didn't mind her tagging along in her bikini.

Just posing. Honest, mum.

Up the mountain roads.

Into the clouds.

At the top there was an American bunker. 

With reminders of the battles that took place here.

So apparently, we chose a bad day to do the trip. The view from the top is meant to be quite incredible, but all we saw was rain  clouds. Coming down the other side of the pass and this was the view. 

We arrived in Hoi An and Wes got measured for a suit. She needed a bigger stool.

We had a couple of relaxing days in Hoi An. It's quite a quaint romantic place, just what Wes and I needed. We headed down the beach. Just a 4km bike ride. I was hardly in the best of shape before going travelling and with copious amounts of alcohol and eating pretty poorly I'm just a sunburned tubby mess. Although I needed the exercise I didn't appreciate it in the heat.

It seemed worth it in the end.

The weeks pass so quickly when you're living this life. No work, lying on the beach, seeing some fantastic sights and partying every night. Someone's got to do it.

A Day in Hue: A Motorbike Tour of the City

I'll keep this one short. Wes and I arrived in Hue with half the day already gone. By time the train had arrived, we had gotten a taxi, and had brunch it was into the afternoon. We got talked into this tour by the reception staff and it turned out to be great. Here's a breakdown of what we did.

From the hostel we crossed the river and our first stop was The Imperial City. A walled fortress and palace. It wasn't in the best of shape as there had been little renovation - is that better? I'm not sure. Hue was the former capital of Vietnam and this is where the big wigs got things done. Built in 1804.

The front entrance

The courtyard

A side gate

Back on the bikes and off to the Thien Mu Pagoda. The Thien Mu Pagoda is a seven-story and is the tallest religious building in Vietnam. Yes, I copied and pasted that from Wikipedia.

It was pretty sweet

Next stop was at the tomb of Minh Mang. He was the second emperor of Vietnam and won a few wars, notably against the Chams (the northern Vietnamese). He also disliked the French, but then who doesn't?

It was miles from Hue and down some pretty narrow treacherous roads. It was at this point I thought we were going to get robbed and left in the wilderness.

Off again, this time to the tomb of Khai Dinh. He was twelfth king of the Nguyen Dynasty. He was another lad who was quite unpopular with the Vietnamese. He collaborated with the French and was a powerless puppet, apparently. He even raised taxes on the Vietnamese peasants. Not quite sure why the locals haven't burnt down his gravesite. What a bastard.

Our final stop was at the abandoned waterfall. It seemed a strange name as I didn't think a waterfall could be inhabited. Anyway, we arrived and it was in fact an abandoned water park. Apparently it's an attraction. We walked around, didn't really fancy a swim the the mucky water and then got back on the bikes home.

It was a good tour. I didn't actually learn anything on the day as the tour guide's accent was pretty strong. I just nodded and said "interesting" when he finished talking. There was some Wikipedia research when I got home.