This morning was a tough one for me. 3 hours of sleep seems to not be enough. We boarded on the early side and headed to Hue. Jourdan tells me that the views were beautiful, but I slept the entire first half of the trip.
We stopped at some ancient lookouts along the Hai Van Pass, I got some delicious seaweed flavored Pringles (all of SE Asia is convinced Farangs [French or westerners] only snack on Pringles and Oreos – all in odd flavors like blueberry, spicy Bangkok chicken etc.), and then continued down the mountain with awesome scenic views of the coastlines below. I was awake for the second part of the trip jammin out to my new favorite songs on Emma’s playlist. This drive is basically just for tourists, as the locals take the tunnel through the mountain. It is known as one of the best coastal drives in the world.
We got to the Asia Hue Hotel around midday, and had some time to grab lunch. With temperatures hitting highs around 42 (well over 100) we didn’t venture too far. It is kind of funny that because there are no copyright laws in Vietnam, we ate at place called Why Not, and a competitor opened another Why Not across the street.
After lunch we headed to the Du-Loc’s Tomb, and went on a walking tour of the grounds with our tour guide, Binh. Along the way, we saw how incents and Viet Rice Paddy hats were made. I gave the incent thing a try, and after failing miserably, a 3-year old kid showed me up.
Along with the tomb, we checked out a palace area, where I played dress-up for a bit. I know I can be quite regal, but it was hysterical how many strangers took pictures of me. One guy even started yelling at me when I got up to leave, because he hadnt finished taking pictures yet.
From there, we headed over to Pagota Thien Mu. We saw the temple, and had some time to walk the grounds. To get home from the pagota we boarded a dragon boat (normal boat with dragons painted on the front).
The boat ride was going great, until we got a couple hundred yards away, and the boat broke down. We spent about an hour stranded between 8 and 30 feet from shore. No passing boats wanted to help us, because they are all competitors. The whole group was very lucky to have the Brothers Block aboard, as we provided non-stop entertainment the entire time. Finally, using a stick, the captain beached us, and we climbed a hillside vegetable garden to board a bus and head home.
We all headed to dinner at Mr. Lac’s, who was this amazingly nice deaf and mute man. He has a very nice little restaurant that is completely family run. He had a great way to open beer bottles, and even gave us a souvenir. Using pictures and drawings, he explained his family history, and his service in the army. At the end of the night, we were able to add to the extensive graffiti all over the walls.
At night, a bunch of us headed to a local bar called DMZ. We spent the night hanging out, befriending other travelers, playing pool, and when we got a little bored, we picked up some markers and we started decorating the bar like we did at Mr Lacs.
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