Friday 25 April
We got up early today as we had to be ready for departure from Hoi An at 7 o’clock. The whole staff was present and we felt quite sad when we waved good bye to them and our ‘holiday paradise’. Our first stop was at the Marble Mountain where we could have bought a goddess or a lion in marble - or most anything else - for our front garden, but we just wanted to climb to the top to see the view. There were many stairs to climb and it was already hot but halfway up there was a fine pagoda and a large cave to see before we went on. We did not go right to the top but there was a fine view where we stopped towards the South China Sea with lovely beaches and palm trees.
After this visit we went on to Hue. We took the old road – across the Hai Van Pass. It is a very steep road and at the top there is a beautiful view towards the sea and also inland. There were many traders there, but we did not like them. They were quite aggressive and tried to cheat some of us. There was more traffic going down – some big vans that we just overtook, and then the mopeds that we see everywhere. The speed is less than at home but no wonder as the roads are usually not very good and this one is so steep. When we arrived at our very nice hotel we had time to relax a while before we got our bicycles and tried out our skills before we get to Hanoi where the traffic is tremendous. The traffic in a town like Hue is also heavy compared to what we experienced in Hoi An. What still amazes me is how easily you can make a left turn when you are in a group. We pull towards the left and a while before we have to make the turn we are actually driving in the left hand side of the road with the traffic against us and when we turn into the new road we also have the traffic against us before we slowly pull towards the right when the traffic allows us to do so. Sounds easy, but it requires a lot of concentration. We visited the Hue Citadel with the Imperial City, but before we went in we had to wait for half the group who had got lost on the way. It was impressive to visit the Citadel but it is difficult to understand that these buildings are just about 100 years old when an emperor made Hue the Royal City. During the Indochina Wars many damages were done to the palaces but they are restoring everything to its former grandeur. We even saw an emperor and his wife while we were there!!! – you can hire clothes and sit on the throne and Henning and Thu appeared in their royal robes to receive our warm homage. In the evening we all got the chance to dress like kings and queens. We went to a hotel where they have specialized in royal dinners. A king and queen from our party were appointed – a young man –Ahn from Hoi An and Oanh who has been together with us since Hoi An. Then we all chose royal robes and hats to wear while we had a very fine dinner and a band of musicians entertained us. When the music stopped the spell was broken and we took off the royal robes and finished the dinner in our ordinary clothes.
Video from party in Hue.
There was no singing and drinking toasts but two Vietnamese girls who study music kept the standard high by singing beautifully for us. After this royal dinner we returned to our ordinary lives – our bikes were waiting outside the hotel ready to take us home. After this eventful day we are now tired and ready to go to bed.
Saturday 26 April
We got up early, had a nice breakfast at our hotel and by 7 o’clock we were standing with our bikes in front of the hotel. Today’s program was a boat trip down the Perfume River. It was easy enough to get down to the river as there were no left turns. At the river a nice ship was waiting only for us and our bikes.
It was overcast in the morning so to begin with we sat inside but with open doors. It was not as hot in the morning as we are used to from Hoi An but later in the day it got quite hot. It was very beautiful to sail on the river where we could look at mountains almost hidden in a haze of heat, green fields and the changing landscape. The river was not very busy but we saw quite a few boats either transporting sand or pumping it up from the bottom of the river. Our first stop was at the Thien Mu Pagoda after about an hour’s sailing. We had come at the right moment because a big procession of monks, nuns and ordinary people were preparing to walk into the pagoda with beautiful flower arrangements. They were celebrating the anniversary of the death of a famous monk and I am not sure but maybe it was the monk who became world famous during the war with the Americans when he burnt himself in Saigon in front of the president’s palace. Anyway he had lived at this pagoda and we could se his car in the garden behind the pagoda. We watched the monks singing and praying and could see that they were going to have something to eat afterwards as many long tables were made ready everywhere. Our next stop was the Tomb of Minh Mang. It is a very impressive tomb with beautiful lakes and gardens and from there we sailed on for a while and then had to take our bikes ashore and cycle for about three km. until we got to the Tomb of Khai Dinh. This Tomb was grandiose and in one of the rooms we saw many things that had belonged to this king who died as late as 1925 and was the last king to be buried in Hue.
When we got back to the boat a delicious lunch was ready for us and after that half of the group chose to cycle back to Hue while the others sailed back. It was a nice bicycle ride in the countryside but we had to concentrate as we met cars and bikes and mopeds coming from all directions - overtaking us and coming against us - maybe in the wrong side of the road. Safely back at the hotel we had time to have a shower and get ready for the train trip to Hanoi. The train leaves at four o’clock and we will be taken to the station by bicycle taxies. If there are no delays we shall be in Hanoi tomorrow morning at five o’clock.
