It was about 6pm when we started driving. We were in a car that had a symbol like a Mazda but looked like a Yaris, not sure what kind of car it was. With 6 grown people in the car and 10 pieces of luggage tied to the top, the car's suspension was next to none. The car was weighed down and with every bump, we could feel it all the way up our spines. I sat and prayed to myself, "please don't let it start raining b/c our luggage are not covered and please let us get there safely". I looked over and Eric's face was miserable. The roads were the worst roads I have ever seen. It was all one lane with no line to separate the traffic and the road was filled with potholes. There was construction along the whole trip and the roads would go from pavement/asfault to dirt/gravel roads and with no suspension, it was harsh on the body. We drove for about 4 or 5 hours neither of us barely getting any sleep because of how rough the ride was. The driver pulls over to a place that looks like any other on the side of the road. It was dark but the inside was lit up and we walk in to have some dinner and rest for a bit, it was a pit stop, literally. There was a group of men sitting and watching the soccer game, chatting and smoking and there were 2 women sitting at a table talking to each other. They are excited to see us come in and quickly put a table together with enough chairs for us. We all order Pho and Eric orders the fried rice. Usually these kinds of pit stops all have the same 3 items on their menu, Pho, fried rice and stir fry noodles. It seemed like it was a family owned business and to them, any business is great business and they are very quick to get us anything we need. We eat, pee and relax for a little bit and we squeeze back in the car again. A few hours of driving on the horrible roads again, it starts to sprinkle. "Oh no," I thought, I prayed for no rain! The driver says "oh, don't worry, it's just a light sprinkle". We drive for a few more hours of "light sprinkle" by now our luggage must be damp and dirty from all the dirt in the air from the dirt road. I fell asleep for a few hours, Eric was not able to sleep at all because of the bumpy roads and because he saw our driver starting to get sleepy. He would nod off and shake his head and we did NOT want him to fall asleep on these roads or any. I tried to talk to him for a bit and he said that he was getting a little tired and that he would look for a hotel to stop for the night and get a few hours rest. I tried to talk to him for the next hour while we were looking for any places that were lit up and not so scary looking. We found a place that said "Nha Nghi" on the front which means "rest house" which is equivalent to motel. Whatever, it'll do. We pull up but the inside was dark but it looked like there was a place for us to park behind the gate and it was under a roof. The driver calls the phone number on the front, a man answers and comes out to let us in. We woke him from his sleep and he didn't look too happy but he wanted the business so he let us in. We pulled in, he locked the gate and gave us the keys to our room. We walk up the cold, dark stairway to the 4th floor and we all go to our rooms. Our room was cold and muggy and loud because we were facing the road. Eric goes to the bathroom and almost hits his head, the door was built for a 5'11'' person and Eric is 6'1'', the bathroom is an all in one kind of bathroom. It was a shower, a toilet and a sink all in one and it smelled really bad. The mattress was about 2 inches thick and was laid on a wooden plank so it was hard with no cushion and at closer inspection, the mattress had black specs all over it and the pillows had hair on them. We did dare use the comforter. We did have any of our items, they were all still tied to the car, we didn't have any towels to lay down. all i had was my hoodie that I put over my head. We tried to sleep but only got about an hour of sleep before we were awaken by the noise from the traffic. Vietnamese people drive with one hand on the wheel and one hand on the horn. It was so noisy! We tried to close the window but the window was already closed, but it was not sealed correctly so it sounded like the window was open and because it was raining it was very humid. We started feeling a little damp from the humidity and we were holding each other for body heat. We thought we were in a nightmare and wanted to wake up from it so bad but the problem is, we were already awake. We laid there miserably until 5am and we went to see if our driver was awake. No one was up except for some people who lived at the motel, they were up gathering their clothes that they had hanging to dry and was using a hair dryer to dry them off. We finally decided to knock on his door, he answered with groggy eyes and said that he's getting up. We knock on my uncle's room door to wake them up and went downstairs to wait. We paid for all 3 rooms, it was only $7 a room, I guess that explains it all. Everyone finally comes down, we get into the car and back on the road.

We drive for a few more hours in the drizzling rain without sleep and decide that we want to get breakfast. We stop on the side of the road at a place selling Bun Bo (spicy beef soup). We order a few bowls and my uncle, Eric, Viet and the driver all go in different directions looking for tarp to cover our bags. Eric comes back with 2 Coca Cola signs and Anh Truong comes back with a tarp and more rope. We decide to use all of them to ensure that our luggage is completely covered and no more rain can get to it. We quickly eat, get some coffee and make our way to Hue. On the road we see a lot of interesting things, there are mountains and rice fields and even a funeral. Funerals in Vietnam are almost like a celebration of life. They have a long parade of people and the casket is very decorated. It was sad but very interesting to see.

We finally get to Hue! Finally after 13 hours we thought we would never make it! I didn't have a hotel planned out for Hue so we had to drive around looking for one. There was a guy on a scooter that scoped out our luggage and knew that we were tourists so he drove up, gave us a card to the hotel he was promoting for and told us to follow him. We drove up to the hotel and there were only 3 parking spots, we walked in and asked them to look at a room before we pay. The host takes us into the elevator to the 7th floor and when we step out we could smell something funny. She opens a room and the smell got stronger. When we walked inside the room was small and when we looked up there was MOLD all over the ceiling right above the bed. We run out of there quickly. She asked us if we wanted to see another room and we said no thank you and ran into the car. A few of the hotel employees come out to try and talk us into staying. We told my uncle and the driver that we had to go some where else, there was mold and we did not want to get sick. We left and went back to a hotel that we passed on the way to the crappy hotel, it looked nice and out of our budget but we decided to try. My cousin and Eric went in to ask to look at the room and asked for the price. They came out and told us 800,000 VND each room, that's only $40 USD!!! That was a great deal for a 4 star hotel so we quickly told them 3 rooms, unloaded our luggage and went to the room. They also told us there was a spa there where we could get a massage for 200,000 VND, that's a little under $10, that was perfect because we needed to work out the kinks from the rough ride! We all take showers and sleep for a bit before going to get dinner.

We found a place to eat and ordered a bunch of different foods that are well known in Hue. They set out some bananas that looked like dessert and we ate a few and found out in the end that they charged us for it. Everything in Vietnam that is set out in front of you is being charged so if you don't use it or eat it they'll take it off the bill but if you use a wet nap or eat a banana they charge so just be careful and remember to always ask. We then went back to drop the car off at the hotel and walked to the night market. There were people every where and lots of shops set up, we walk around by the river and it was actually pretty cold. We walk by the shops and everyone was selling little knick knacks. We walk by the food section and most everyone was grilling fresh seafood or selling mystery meat on sticks. It was pretty cool but I was too full from dinner to try anything. We heard about a popular sandwich lady and decided to grab a few Banh Mi's before going back to the hotel. When we get to the spot where she had set up, she was sitting very low on the ground and had 2 helpers, one lady splitting the bread and another one grilling them. The lady had her own rhythm going, she would take the bread, lather on some sauces, put the meat and the veggies and serve them all within 30 seconds and she was pumping out sandwich after sandwich and people sat around in awe just watching her. The sandwich was good but too saucy and spicy. We couldn't wait to get back to the hotel to get our massages. When we got to the spa room we went to pay for our massages, they charged all of us 200,000 but charged Eric 250,000. We tried to convince them that he was Vietnamese but they said that the boss told them that white people have to pay an extra 50,000 for no reason, but whatever it's only $2.50 more but it was the principle. So we all got our massages which were the weakest massages ever, the girls were weak and barely massaged any kinks out, we were pretty disappointed. We got a good nights rest though and the next morning we set out to Da Nang.