On Saturday morning I left the pleasant city of Hue to travel 130km south towards the small town of Hoi An.
Hoi An is not accessible by rail, so with a heavy heart I resigned myself to getting there by bus. When I went to book a ticket, I was told I would have to leave at 8 in the morning and that the journey could take five hours - although it would cost only $5. Another option would be to pay for a car to take me there. It would be considerably more expensive ($60) but I could leave when I wanted, stop where and when I wanted to en route and sit in the back of an air conditioned car rather than a packed bus. With memories of my last bus journey in Vietnam and subsequent puking still fresh in my mind, I appiled my usual financial analysis to such issues, thought 'fuck it' and booked the car.
We set off at the civilised time of 10am from Hue. The roads seemed to go from being in good condition in some areas to near unpassable in others, and it made the journey uncomfortable at times. At least they were better than those in Cambodia, I thought. Mind you that isn't much of a gloss to put on things. It's a bit like picking up a minger in a club and then consoling yourself the next day with the thought that at least it wasn't Kenneth Clarke...
About an hour into the journey, we started to drive through some of the most breathtaking natural scenery I have ever come across. When I get the USB cord on my camera sorted out I will upoload some of the pictures I took because nothing I type can do justice to this part of Vietnam. Lush green fields, stunning mountain views and glistening lakes - it was fantastic. Then at the foot of the mountain we came to Lang Co beach, which looked beautiful on what was a perfect sunny day. We stopped to take endless photographs.
Our next stop was close to the city of Danang, where old American pillar boxes overlook the forested side of mountains for miles and miles. Again, the views were incredible. And again, there was the predictable hassle of people trying to sell stuff. I had to tell one woman more than ten times that I didn't want to buy a necklace from her. I bet the Americans didn't have to put up with this crap when they were here. As if a soldier letting loose on a machine gun would be interrupted by someone saying 'please mister you buy necklace for your girlfriend'. So why should I have to!
The stunning scenery did actually get me thinking about the war again. It may have been a terrible, terrible ordeal to have gone through that conflict, but I can think of worse places to be drafted into battle. At least the yanks didn't have to fight communism in somewhere like Belgium...
We then drove through Vietnam's fourth largest city, Danang. It seemed really pleasant, with the tree-lined boulevards and light traffic contrasting sharply with what I had come across in Saigon. Just outside the city is the famous China beach, which is now home to endless spanking new luxury resorts.
Eventually we arrived in Hoi An just before 2pm. It had been a really nice journey, but as I will explain in a later blog, the best part of the trip was to come as I explored this wonderful, quaint and relaxed little town...
Hoi An is not accessible by rail, so with a heavy heart I resigned myself to getting there by bus. When I went to book a ticket, I was told I would have to leave at 8 in the morning and that the journey could take five hours - although it would cost only $5. Another option would be to pay for a car to take me there. It would be considerably more expensive ($60) but I could leave when I wanted, stop where and when I wanted to en route and sit in the back of an air conditioned car rather than a packed bus. With memories of my last bus journey in Vietnam and subsequent puking still fresh in my mind, I appiled my usual financial analysis to such issues, thought 'fuck it' and booked the car.
We set off at the civilised time of 10am from Hue. The roads seemed to go from being in good condition in some areas to near unpassable in others, and it made the journey uncomfortable at times. At least they were better than those in Cambodia, I thought. Mind you that isn't much of a gloss to put on things. It's a bit like picking up a minger in a club and then consoling yourself the next day with the thought that at least it wasn't Kenneth Clarke...
About an hour into the journey, we started to drive through some of the most breathtaking natural scenery I have ever come across. When I get the USB cord on my camera sorted out I will upoload some of the pictures I took because nothing I type can do justice to this part of Vietnam. Lush green fields, stunning mountain views and glistening lakes - it was fantastic. Then at the foot of the mountain we came to Lang Co beach, which looked beautiful on what was a perfect sunny day. We stopped to take endless photographs.
Our next stop was close to the city of Danang, where old American pillar boxes overlook the forested side of mountains for miles and miles. Again, the views were incredible. And again, there was the predictable hassle of people trying to sell stuff. I had to tell one woman more than ten times that I didn't want to buy a necklace from her. I bet the Americans didn't have to put up with this crap when they were here. As if a soldier letting loose on a machine gun would be interrupted by someone saying 'please mister you buy necklace for your girlfriend'. So why should I have to!
The stunning scenery did actually get me thinking about the war again. It may have been a terrible, terrible ordeal to have gone through that conflict, but I can think of worse places to be drafted into battle. At least the yanks didn't have to fight communism in somewhere like Belgium...
We then drove through Vietnam's fourth largest city, Danang. It seemed really pleasant, with the tree-lined boulevards and light traffic contrasting sharply with what I had come across in Saigon. Just outside the city is the famous China beach, which is now home to endless spanking new luxury resorts.
Eventually we arrived in Hoi An just before 2pm. It had been a really nice journey, but as I will explain in a later blog, the best part of the trip was to come as I explored this wonderful, quaint and relaxed little town...
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