Hue: 19-21 April

Firstly, an apology: The obviously popular Ghost Writer has departed these shores and returned home. Although his antics will live on for the next few entries, you're back to hearing from us! Also, thank you for all the messages/e-mails we've been receiving - it's great hearing from you although it's been difficult to reply due to Facebook/Hotmail restrictions in Vietnam. Anyway...

We hired a car and driver for the relatively short hop north from Hoi An to Hue in an effort to see some of the countryside en route. Unbeknownst to us, the price also included a guide, so the three of us squeezed into the back seat and we set off, making a few stops on the way.

The first stop was just south of Da Nang at the beach where the first American soldiers came ashore. There's not much to see, but the beach itself is quite nice if in need of a tidy up. The tidy up will probably come along quickly though, there are 5 star resorts being built for miles up and down the coast both north and south of Da Nang. We stopped for a short while at the municipal beach in the middle of Da Nang which was nice as well, but it had just started to rain so we didn't break out the swimming trunks.

We endured the usual stop at an establishment where the entire goal is to get you to part with some cash. This one was a marble-carving workshop and retail outlet. It was impressive seeing the craftsmen sculpting with their electric tools and the women hand polishing the various statues. We managed to escape this particular Tat Offensive without any life-size marble lions (or smaller souvenirs) in tow and hit the road again.

We climbed up and over the Hoi Van pass stopping to take photos at various points (one of the main reasons we'd hired a car instead of taking the train or bus). The scenery was fantastic - big views back down over the hills to the sea. We stopped to sample some Vietnamese coffee at the very top of the pass (or at least Chris and Sue did. I can vouch that Vietnamese Coca Cola tastes about the same..). We were up in the clouds where we sheltered in the makeshift cafe and got fleeced of a bit of cash in the inevitable tat offensive. Shopping done though, we were able to enjoy our drinks and quiz the owner on his broad knowledge of English football - he was familiar with the Saints, the Dell and St Mary's and of course Matt Le Tissier, before expanding on other more famous clubs and showing us the sport pages for Serie A as well. Nice guy.

Back in the car, we headed back down the pass and out of the clouds pausing for photos once more at a spot that Top Gear fans may recognise from the Vietnam special. Interesting fact: in the few days after that program aired, the Vietnamese state tourist company took 25% more enquiries than the whole of the previous year. Anyway, we stopped there admiring the view, taking photos and watching the train pass below us, complete with a couple of stow-aways holding onto the sides. They seemed quite respectable ladies: heels, hats and handbags, clinging onto the side of the train.

From there it was another hour or so to Hue where we checked into our hotel and headed out into the rain in search of a late lunch. We went for a damp trudge around town arriving at the old Citadel just before it closed. Trudged back again and found solace in a few 'Huda' beers and glasses of white wine in the 'DMZ Bar'. After the picturesque scenes of Hoi An, the first impressions of the big rainy city of Hue were not great, but fortunately that was to change in the subsequent days.

The following morning we caught a cab back to the Citadel and the sun was starting to break through as we bought our tickets. The Citadel is a very impressive complex and was home to the Nguyen dynasty for a number of generations. Wars and typhoons have ruined parts of it, but there are large parts of original buildings still in place and a big reconstruction program underway.

Next stop was a 3-4km drive out to the Thien Mu Pagoda, a picturesque temple on the banks of the river consisting of a large pagoda and small complex of buildings. The Thien Mu Pagoda was also home to a monk who famously set himself alight in protest of the oppressive regime - the car that he made his final journey in is displayed at Pagoda. Our taxi driver had said he would wait for 5 minutes only, so he promptly disappeared while we were inside leaving us without a ride back into town. One of the good things about being a foreigner in Vietnam though, is that you are never more than a minute away from somebody selling you a ride in whatever form of transport they have to hand. In this case the boat won over the motorbikes and we set off on an impromptu cruise back into town while the lady of the boat was good natured in her efforts to sell us more tat. Needless to say her efforts were not unsuccessful.

We took another boat-trip on our final day in Hue as well. We had booked ourselves on an overnight bus that evening, so had the best part of the day to fill, so we booked a tour along the river to a couple of the Royal Tombs outside of town. The sun was out and we were able to check out life along the river banks as we headed downstream. We moored up and were pointed in the direction of 3 waiting motorbikes that would take us to the tombs, which came as a bit of a surprise. Obviously we were adequately dressed in shorts and flip flops and Sue seems to always have a summer dress on whenever we end up on a bike! Chris just looked suitably terrified! It's a great way to see some of the countryside though and we took off on a round trip that took in two tombs, both of which were huge and impressive in different ways and worth the time and effort to visit.

Back on the boat, we ate the lunch that we'd seen the lady of the boat prepare. She and her husband (and pet cat) live aboard and seemingly make their money from ferrying tourists (and probably other goods) around while trying to sell them more tat. You guessed it, she made a bit of cash from that too.

We arrived back ashore in time for a snack and a shower at the hotel before departing to catch our bus north to Ninh Binh at 6pm - a fun-filled experience we'll share with you on our next update!

Hope you are well, keep in touch.

Dan & Sue

(& the recently departed Nuts - still live & kicking, just at the time of writing no longer with us in Vietnam!!!)