November 22nd, 2024
We were picked up in Nha Trang outside our hotel at 9:35 and the driver had a couple more pick ups and drop offs to do. We are in an eight seater mini van with AC and water is on offer. This trip cost $30 USD for us both to go about 200 km / 125 mi.
We got underway closer to ten and stopped once at a roadside restaurant about halfway for a terrible meal of rice, some vegetable we didn’t recognize and cabbage. We ordered two plates and when Doug’s didn’t come, Fran passed him hers as it was too much and not very good. We paid $2 for that privilege which seemed a lot compared to the lunch we’d had on the other road trip.
While in the mini van, Fran got a message about tomorrow’s bus trip. We’d booked a “cabin” on a bus from Quy Nhon to Hoi An for 7am. They advised that bus was canceled and we could go at midnight tonight or midnight tomorrow night! WTH? – we were trying to avoid night buses altogether, that’s why we booked the 7am bus. After some discussions with the booking company, we sorted it all out – they will give us a full refund – getting it will involve some finesse but we’re sure it will work out. The company we are using today has a 6am mini van going tomorrow and they reserved us two seats and we’ll pay when we get to the bus station today.
It was too miserable outside to take any photos as we drove, but Fran did manage when we slowed down by a fish farming area. The driver we had today was better and more aggressive and the drive, although it took longer than we’d expected by about a half hour, went much smoother with a few drop offs on the highway.
Upon arrival in Quy Nhon, around 2pm (it rained most of the way there) we took care of paying for tomorrow’s bus and confirming the time (they don’t do hotel pick up). We did not get a ticket, just a piece of paper that didn’t even say “paid”:
This second bus trip cost us $29 USD for us both and the trip is about 300 km / 200 mi. Doug then used his Grab app to get us a taxi to our hotel. We’d booked this particular one because if was two blocks from the other bus station that we thought we’d be leaving from, so now we’ll need a cab in the morning to get back here. Oh well, it will all work out – gotta be adaptable, right?
Tidbit: Quy Nhon means gathering scholars
We have to say the bus company that canceled was very apologetic and will refund our money when we get to Hoi An. He’s sent us the address of his office there and we can go get it there. Turns out it’s about two blocks from where our new bus is dropping us off.
We checked into the TH Quy Nhon hotel and were given the king room we booked. We have a harbour view, a private bathroom, desk, small table and two chair, fridge and kettle all for the whopping price of $14. Can’t complain about that.
We got our stuff into the room and went for a walk to see the beach about a klick away and to see the dragon shaped hedges we’d spotted on the way into the city.
Quy Nhon is bigger than expected and is trying hard to become a tourist destination. The beach was clean and long (forgot to take a photo) but the water was quite brown – probably due to today’s rain as the beach is in a bay and we expect water runs off the hills on both sides.
There were a couple of beach bars along the way and we found these dragons:
The Lotus Flower is the national flower of Vietnam and here in Quy Nhon they celebrate this in their roundabouts:
Some pics along the boardwalk:
We headed away from the beach to find some beer and maybe something to eat; we found the former but not the latter. We decided we’ll use the Grab app and get delivery tonight. It’s very, very humid here and we just want to get into our room with AC!
We did order dinner – some veggie burritos and a Caesar salad – neither of which were very good. The Caesar salad had tomato, cucumber and hard boiled eggs and was not made with romaine lettuce – it was weird and the burritos were mostly peppers and onion with some corn.
We went to bed a little earlier than usual as we need to be up at 5 to catch the new bus we’ve booked. Neither of us slept well; the little harbour we’re staying next to wakes up at like 2 am!
It was a two tunnel day today getting to Quy Nhon.
Doug called a Grab at 5:30 and we were at the travel office at 5:40 – five minutes early; there was some confusion about payment (wonder why!?) but it must have sorted itself out as eventually, we were told where to go to get on the bus across the road.
There are several more photos of Quy Nhon here.
The front of the bus said “Danang” not Hoi An but we confirmed that this was the correct mini van. There were a couple of young Dutch girls on this bus with us also headed to Hoi An. This time it’s a 16 seater tourist van. We made two bathroom breaks enroute and we noticed the bus was going past Hoi An and when Doug asked, he was told “we go the long way”. Turns out we went to some random bus station halfway between Hoi An and Danang and then turned around. Whatever….it’s hard when you don’t speak the language!
It rained for about ¾ of the drive. We made it to Hoi An around 11:45, Fran called the bus company that owed us money and we went over to the office and got a full refund in cash. While there, we met a South African photographer who recommended we check out Ninh Binh on our way north to Hanoi so we’ll look into that too. We had thought about flying from Danang to Hanoi but it seems to make more sense to take a bus instead since it’s about 3 hours before Hanoi so we’d avoid an out and back. We’ll figure it out.
Tidbit: Hoi An means peaceful meeting place
After getting the refund, Doug found us a vegetarian restaurant to have lunch. It was really quite good. We tried the vegan version of Hoi An’s specialty: “white rose dumplings” and each had a veggie and rice dish. Fran enjoyed a coconut coffee and a coke while Doug had two Saigon beers.
White rose dumplings are a traditional dish hailing from the city of Hoi An. These delicate and visually striking dumplings are a popular street food and are often enjoyed as a snack or appetizer. Despite their name, they do not contain any roses; rather, the name “white rose” refers to their appearance, resembling a white rose in bloom.
So how to make rose dumplings? To make the dough, fresh and fragrant sticky rice is processed through multiple water filtrations. After the dough is properly kneaded, the chef shapes it into elongated forms, then cuts them into evenly sized pieces, using their fingers to flatten them into thin and beautiful wrappers.
There are two main variations of the white rose dumpling, and they are typically served together. One, known as “banh vac,” features ground freshwater shrimp mixed with pepper, scallions, garlic, lemongrass, and spices. Another is “banh bao” typically comprising pork, spring onions, and sliced wood ear mushrooms. After shaping, the dumplings are carefully arranged in a steamer and cooked for approximately 10 to 15 minutes until done. Of course, there are vegan versions of the above as well.
Once cooked, the dumplings are arranged together on a plate, decorated like a blooming white rose, with each layer adorned with a layer of snowy-white rice flour. The dipping sauce, a blend of sourness, spiciness, and sweetness, adds an irresistible aroma and enhances the delicious taste of the dumplings.
After that delicious lunch (Doug added a banana fritter to his meal – super sweet he said) we caught a Grab to our hotel. Here we had a nice room overlooking the pool with a balcony. There was a fridge and kettle, a toilet room, a shower room and the sink was in between them.
Across the road, right on the river, was a large seating area which they are still developing to add a bar and coffee area.
It began to rain again after we arrived. Doug went out to pick up a few things and as he had no umbrella. to avoid the worst of it, he went for a massage (which are offered literally everywhere and quite cheaply) to wait it out. Even telling them he wanted it “mild” it was too hard and she had to keep ramping it down.
It rained most of the afternoon and at dinner time we walked about a block to the nearest restaurant without going into town to have dinner. The 1990’s Restaurant had a large menu and was licensed and we had a nice meal.
It seemed to have rained all night and the forecast is not boding well for a walk around the town today. Doug went for his run but only half what he normally likes to do on a Sunday. Fran went to have a shower after exercising and there was no hot water; she had it anyway and after getting dressed, went down to advise the front desk. They played with it for the longest time, saying “you just have to wait, it will come” but it never did. Doug returned and he ended up having a cold shower too. They advised they will call someone after we suggested that they try the other rooms to see if it was the same – it was.
As breakfast is included in our hotel, we are opting for the last time slot and we both ordered the oat banana pancake (it is the size of the plate!) and it comes with two drinks, one hot and one cold as well as a plate of fruit. It was very good and quite filling. Next to the table we sat at the patio doors were open and there was a koi pond right there. They even have a bucket for food to entertain yourself!
We were then advised the hot water was now fixed.
After breakfast we spoke with the front desk and learned about a few things we can do here in Hoi An besides visiting the Old Town and are considering a couple for tomorrow. In the meantime, we borrowed two large umbrellas and walked into the Old Town on our own to explore.
In 1999 the old town was declared a UNESCO site, and is recognized as a well-preserved example of a Southeast Asian trading port dating from the 15th to 19th century, its buildings and street plan reflecting a blend of indigenous and foreign influences.
It was dry when we left and we had a few short showers as we wandered so the umbrellas were useful.
We enjoyed walking these old streets and looking at the Chinese and Japanese architecture from the periods of their occupation here. There are many streets of shops, cafes, restaurants and bars and it kinda takes away from all that but worse were the motorbikes! It seems cars are not allowed on these streets but the incessant honking of the motorbikes takes away from the ambiance of this place for sure. There were a good number of people but not ridiculous amounts. We did a little shopping (including finding our usual country souvenir), saw a few sights, enjoyed drinks walked across the bridge to the island as well.
The Japanese Bridge from the sixteenth century:
We had a few pings on our phones of things to see, five of them were Assembly Halls from different periods in history. We were not aware these were not free as for the first one we just sort of walked in amoungst a big group and saw on the way out there was a ticket booth! Oops. One was good enough for us.
Mostly our time was just walking around, taking it all in.
We walked back to our hotel in the rain for a couple of hours of relaxation before heading back into town around 4:30. The lanterns come on at sunset and the town turns quite magical (except for the motorbikes, of course!). We sat in a bar on the second floor of a restaurant for a while after dinner for a bit, going in and out cause the rain kept stopping and starting. We went back down to find something else to eat, never did and then walked back to the hotel. Despite the rain, it’s quite warm; the high today was 27C / 81F and the low tonight is 26C / 79F. So walking the in rain does not feel cold.
Fran took lots of pics, we had street food for dinner (banh mi – sandwiches on small loaves of a spin-off of French bread, smoothies, corn on the cob), enjoyed watching the boats floating down the river (we opted not to take a boat – it seemed nicer to just watch them float by), some people lit lanterns and placed them in the river. We are not here at the right time of the month for the monthly lunar lantern festival, but that’s okay with us.
Next morning after breakfast, we spoke to Phuong at the front desk about arranging a lantern making class for Fran and for both of us to take the basket boat tour. She advised she could set up the first for sure but the latter might not be possible as it had rained SO much overnight that the river was quite high, so we’ll see. We also left our laundry with the front desk which will be ready tomorrow for a cost us $6 to wash, dry and fold!
Well again, we knew it was rainy season so these things are to be expected. The sun did try a few times to peek out today so we’re hopeful. About a half hour later, we were told we could do a tour at 2 and Fran could take her class at 10:30. Nice. So Doug set off on a walk to get a few things and Fran left about a half hour later to go to the class.
Lynn’s Lantern Making Class was empty except for the teacher (who was not Lynn). She spoke some English but it would have been nice if she spoke more but Fran got a mostly private lesson because no one else showed up until she was three-quarters done. It was not easy so it was nice to have the teacher’s help. Here’s the kit you get:
First you spread out the two bamboo frame pieces, fit them into the top and bottom of the metal frame, cut them off and secure the metal ends. Because Fran had chosen a round shape she had to do two strings around the outside (one a third of the way up and the other two thirds) and it took a bit of getting used to in order for a rhythm of the fat needle and thread to make that happen. 
Then there are four pieces of fabric; you put glue on four to the bamboo strips and stretch the each fabric around the outside ones, and do that four times; then you have cut off the excess – this takes finesse (not a skill Fran mastered all that well but luckily the teacher cleaned it up!).
Once all four pieces are on the frame, there is a strip that goes at the top and bottom, you add a tassel with a bead and voila:
Fran was shown how to collapse the lantern and reopen it. The teacher set it up with a light bulb inside and then took photos for her. This lesson took just over an hour. When she left five others were now making lanterns. On the way back Fran found an outfit she liked and bought it – pants and a blouse for about $20.
While Fran was doing this, Doug decided to find someone to remove a wart he’s had on his baby finger for years; he uses remover on it but it seems to keep coming back. For $20 he had it taken off by laser. It is supposed to be healed by the end of the week (today is Monday). Another cheap medical procedure done in Vietnam.
Doug was back at the hotel before 11:30 and Fran about 20 minutes later. It had not rained at all this morning, but the sun keep peeking out for a change; however, that just made it more humid and hotter but we’ll take it as it’s not raining!
We asked the receptionist if we could do the basket boat tour at 1 instead of 2 and that was arranged. We were picked up at the hotel in a mini van and were driven almost to the coast to the Coconut Forest Basket Tour seeing flooded fields enroute. The sky had cleared the sun was shining now and it was very humid and quite warm: 28C / 83F.
Here we got into one of the basket boats with a female rower. The boats only take 2 adults so we had a “private” boat. The tour lasts about 45 minutes and you are taken down the river into the water coconut palm forest. This we’d never seen before and it was a great experience.
Vietnamese water coconuts are grown from the North to the South, especially in coastal provinces in muddy areas along the river banks, or coastal areas with up and down tides and slow-flowing water that provides nutrients. The stems grow horizontally underground, with only leaves and flowers on top. Coconut water is available all year round but most in the summer, especially in much rainy months.
Many Chinese love water coconuts which are processed into sweet soup or drinks at affordable prices. Coconut water has a cooling effect, helps prevent pimples, and beautifies the skin.
After picking the coconut water, people will separate it to take the white pulp inside. Coconut pulp is often enjoyed with sugar water added with ice or to make jam or sweet soup. Now, it is also canned or dried for convenient storage and transportation.
People often use water coconut leaves to roof houses, knit baskets or handicrafts, and make firewood. In addition, the water coconut resin can be cooked into sugar or fermented to make vinegar.
We stopped at a spot where the “circus” was performing. Here a few of the drivers perform spinning acts with and without volunteers who want to sit in the boat – we passed on this – way too fast and dizzying for us old folks! It was cool to watch though.
Then down the next tributary, we stopped at a large heart for photos both in and out of the boat. There, of course, was a photographer there taking photos along with our driver. She rowed us over to the booth and we purchased one of the photos only for less than $3 USD. A nice keepsake as we don’t often print photos anymore.
Then it was back into the main river to watch a fisherman show us how he throws out his nets.
Last stop was next to the palms where Fran was given a small fishing road to catch crab – no luck; the driver made Fran a ring out of palm fronds and made Doug put it on her finger!
She was a great host and took lots of photos of us. After disembarking, we were given some cold ginger tea and cookies after which the driver took us back to the hotel. This little tour cost us about $12 each. We recommend it for sure.
After returning to the hotel, we went and relaxed by the pool – it was still quite dry out for a change and the cold pool water felt good in the humidity.
Before 5 we walked back into town for street food for dinner around the night market. However, the rain last night must had been quite heavy and many of the streets were flooded and the market was smaller than the night before. Also no lantern boats were on the river as the current was too strong so we were glad we went out last night even though it rained more during out walks. We felt for the tour people who’d only come for the day as it was not as magical tonight.
We returned to the hotel after eating various foods (tonight was banh mi again, Doug had a lemonade, some banana sticky rice and Fran did a banana fritter and a pineapple smoothie). She had hoped to try the toasted coconut cake tonight but we never saw that stall.
We’ve been planning to do a cruise in the north part of the country but didn’t want to do the very popular and tourist Ha Long Bay one; we’d read about a less popular one which includes parts of the same area but goes into Bai Tu Long Bay and our friend, Gaye had done that one a few years ago and gave us the name of the boat and the agent she used. Fran reached out and we’ve arranged a 3d2n cruise for next week. (Note we learned while on the cruise, that there can be 500 boats in Ha Long and only ten in Bai Tu – so that was more what we wanted.)
We awoke Tuesday morning to cloudy skies that seemed to be clearing but that didn’t last. We had breakfast at 7:30 and at 8 checked out of the hotel and took a taxi to catch our bus to Hue.
That morning Fran noticed a couple of welts on the back side of her left leg that were quite itchy – maybe bug bites? She will monitor them for a few days to see if they disappear.
For lots and lots more photos of this town that we quite loved, click here.
The bus actually left early as we and one other fellow were the only passengers and we arrived in Hue on time driving through some pretty heavy rain. Before leaving the hotel in Hoi An, the receptionist told us there had been some major flooding in Hue the day before yesterday so Fran had reached out to our hotel there and was told all was good now. Phew!
We could see as we drove across the city to the bus station, that the Perfume River was very high.
As we were rather early to check in, we decided to get a bite to eat and met a fellow who said he was a guide and could take us on a motorbike tour of the sites around the city; we were not keen on doing this on a motorbike for a couple of reasons: the wet weather and we’d have to be on different bikes. He said he had a car as well and we took his card to reach out later as we wanted to see what the hotel would offer.
We took a taxi to our hotel and our room was ready in about ten minutes. At the Soleil Boutique Hotel, we had a king room with a view of the bridge, private bath (wet bath though), fridge, kettle, good Wifi and AC. It was on the third floor with no elevator but it was a good room.
Tidbit: Hue means harmony
After settling in we saw that the weather was supposed to get quite wet again (it not been raining for the last part of the drive and since) so we decided to go out and check out the Citadel.
The city of Hue served as the old Imperial City and administrative capital for the Nguyễn dynasty from 1802 to 1945 and later functioned as the administrative capital of the protectorate of Annam during the French Indochina period. It contains a UNESCO designated site built it 1803 and alongside its moat and thick stone walls the complex encompasses the Imperial City, with palaces and shrines; the Forbidden Purple City, once the emperor’s home; and a replica of the Royal Theater.
We spent about 90 minutes walking around the site; kinda felt like we were back in China! The place is huge covering 520 hectares and partially restored with more work continuing. There are administrative buildings, temples, residences, shrines and many gates. Much of it is quite elaborately decorated like most Chinese buildings with dragons, flowers, birds and the like.
This link will take you to lots of photos of Hue’s Imperial City.
We returned to the hotel mid afternoon and Doug went for the run he missed this morning and to hit an ATM. He did quite well despite the humidity which is present but not as thick today. As in Hoi An, the temps are mid 20’s C / 75 F and drop ever so slightly overnight.
For dinner we went locally and found a place to have noodles and veggies. We then walked out to the river’s edge to watch the Truong Tien Bridge’s changing colours.
Today we passed through 2 tunnels driving north to the city of Hue.
We had contacted that guide we’d met yesterday and this morning a different fellow reached out regarding pick up; we were confused why it wasn’t the same fellow. As it turns out he doesn’t speak much English we were better off to go with the car and driver that the hotel offered which was $9 USD cheaper. At breakfast, we spoke with the receptionist again and she arranged a driver for 10am.
It was quite humid today but stayed dry. Our plan with the car today was to visit three tombs and a pagoda. The ticket we’d purchased to visit the Imperial City yesterday, included these as we upgraded.
First was the Tomb of Khai Dinh
This tomb is described in our guidebook as “an unbelievable concoction of glitzy Vietnamese and French colonial elements”. It was completed in 1932 and is considered the most impressive tomb (we agree). Khai Dinh became emperor in 1916 at the age of 31 and died nine years later. (This was the best of the three so we wished we’d done it last.)
On the first level after climbing the first set of steep stairs you come to a terrace with elephants horses and mandarins (scholars) on display.
It was not a large site, but a steep one and the views were great and probably would be amazing on a clearer day. No photos are allowed inside the main building ….. (but we managed to sneak one with no flash – shhhhh…)
Next was the Tomb of Tu Dac – the most visited of the tombs – it’s closer to the city and quite large. It was building in the mid 19th century and was a second residence including buildings for his over 100 concubines complete with temples and residences, a pond and gardens.
The driver wanted us to visit an incense village but it was more about shopping which is not our thing so we said we’d like to skip it and went on to the Tomb of Minh Mang.
This tomb was completed in 1843 by the successor of Emperor Minh Mang. It is considered the most palatial and has courtyards and pine forests. The burial site is modeled after the Ming Tombs in Beijing.
This was a medium sized site with water features, soldiers, and a temple; not quite as impressive and by now, we were “tombed out” and the humidity was really getting to Fran.
So for our final stop it was the Thien Mu Pagoda – we expected to see only a pagoda but it’s an entire complex which is still in use and there are monks living there too.
This pagoda was constructed in 1601 and has impressive Buddhist statues, bronze bells and a marble turtle dating back to 1715. If you look closely you can see graffiti from the Vietnam War when refugees from northern Vietnam wrote notes advising of their whereabouts.
There is also on display the Austin car one used by monk Thich Quang Duc, who lit himself on first in protest of the persecution of Buddhists by the South Vietnamese government in 1963.
This sits on a perch high above the Perfume River and most people come here by dragon boats but we were glad for our air conditioned car!
Naturally, we have more photos of the tomb sites and you can check them out right here.
We were back at the hotel just before two and felt we’d had a good touring day. We bought some mango from a street vendor and stayed cool in the room for a couple of hours before venturing out again around 4:30. We crossed the bridge into the main part of the city to walk the riverside park (which was quite flooded on the outside) and then we walked into a more commercial area and found a vegetarian restaurant for dinner before walking back to the hotel for the night.
