Hue to Hoi An

The city of Hue is the most northerly large city of former South Vietnam. If you ask a Vietnamese person in Australia or anywhere else in the world where they come from and they say "From the north" they most likely come from Hue. At the time when Vietnam was split into two countries (North and South Vietnam) the old border was just north of Hue. When the North overrun the South the North Vietnamese saw the southerners as traitors and many people were killed or executed. A percentage fled and settled in other countries around the world. All these people only came from South Vietnam. For them the border area near Hue was their northern border at the time, hence they would refer having lived in the north- confusing? Yes it is.

Although Hue was partly destroyed after the Tet offensive in 1968, little of the destruction is visible today other than the damage caused at the old citadel.

Right opposite the place where we were staying, motorcycles could be rented including a special arrangement where we were able to do a one way rental to Hoi An which is about one day's ride away and can be reached via the nearly 500 meter high Hai Van Pass between Hue and Danang.

Renting a scooter can be a better thing than buying an old Honda Win. I have used the old bikes many times and they are often subject to frequent breakdowns. As a motorcyclist you sort of look down on riding scooters. However, there are some big advantages. The Hondas are old 100 or 110 cc bikes, while the scooters are genuine Honda or Yamaha items of 135 cc and can do well over 100 km per hour. A small backpack can be hung on the handlebars and will rest in the frame/console in front of you so you can easily get to your stuff if you need it. It has spare compartments for your phone and water bottle and a fuel gauge - and rides well in the traffic. We had a fully automatic bike as well and again I was surprised, not only by its performance, but also by my incorrect preconceived ideas about these bikes.

Along the coast, just 20 minutes south east of the city is a large strip of sand dunes. This trip is about 40 km long. Now what is special about that area? In the rest of the world you have towns and cities which have may have a small cemetery next to it. Here you have a 40 to 50 km long cemetery with the most elaborate graves and tombs (many tombs are as big as temples) and the small towns and villages are built within them. For example, you travel on a road with tombs on both sides and then shops appear between the tombs followed by houses – tomb – shop – tomb etc. The living amongst the dead and the dead amongst the living. Actually when you think about it, it not such a bad thing instead of being put away somewhere in a remote place.

In between all these tombs we noticed a ship yard where boat are built using traditional methods. These people do everything by hand and are master tradesmen. When passing workshops or other places it is never a problem of just walking in. Privacy or personal space have a different meaning here and people don’t mind at all if you walk in and have a look around.

Nestled in between one of these cemeteries a Frenchman has created an oasis. Thatched huts and a bar, built using a fishing boat for the beach bar area. Good food, cold drinks - a very nice place to relax. The Frenchman has realised his dreams here and is happy with his life. Over the years he has built up a collection of French cars. Last year I was able to talk to him and hear his life story - a very nice guy and an interesting life.

Our bikes took us along the graveyard peninsula back onto the main A1 highway. Last year this was a difficult bit to ride due the more than 30 km of roadworks, we had to ride through gravel, mud and dust. This road has now turned into a new highway with plenty of room for all and separate motorcycle tracks on either side.

When the mountains come into close range the roads splits into two, motorcycles are not allowed in the tunnel. However, some years ago when I was running out of daylight I opted for another way. Near the tunnel is a bus station where motorcycles are driven via a platform on a truck and riders take a place on a bus. This way the Hai Van Pass (Ocean Cloud Pass) can be done in 20 minutes. The Hai Van pass is not to be missed though. It reaches 500 meters high where everyone stops to enjoy the view and the restaurants etc. While checking out some ruins and a USA bunker we discovered a concrete track on the side of the mountain leading high up into the sky and the antenna towers on top of the mountains. I guess this may have added another 200 plus meters. On top of the mountain we found several US bunkers and out-buildings.

After descending on the southern side you enter the city of Danang. A great place mostly overlooked by western tourists as they all head for the “pearl” of Vietnam - the town of Hoi An. We stopped in Danang for a dip in the ocean at China Beach, made famous by a film and well-known as the place where many of the US militaries took their R and R during the Vietnam War. Another 40 km brought us into the town of Hoi An.