Our first internal flight in Vietnam, a quick and cheap Vietjet flight from Hanoi to Hue, was surprisingly pleasant. We left and arrived on time. Our small luggage was too heavy to carry on so we had to check it– at no extra cost, which was surprising. (Other budget airlines really stick it to you for this.) The plane was easy in and out (with two entrances/ exits) and it cost $94 for the two of us.
Hue instantly felt different than Hanoi. Lively but not as chaotic, mellower, with wide boulevards lined with grassy parks dotted with sculpture along the narrow river; and what looked like government buildings. And of course the grand Imperial compound called The Citadel, which has a huge imposing stone wall enclosure.
I was glad we yet again ordered Airport pickup from our hotel because this time we really never would have found the Hue Riverside Villa, hidden down a winding alley, off a bustling street full of packed outdoor bars and restaurants filled with young people.
The Hotel is stylish, eco-conscious (with a filtered water cooler so we can briefly stop using plastic bottles; we also each received glass water bottles that we can take home), five-room place ($29 a night) on the edge of the Perfume River, with glorious views including Of motor scooters zipping over a bridge above the river. When we arrived, an efficient woman sat us down in the small courtyard with a plate of fruit (passion fruit is my new fav, despite its weird look; dragon fruit- don’t like) and told us what we should do and see and offered a driver
We visited three out of the way landmarks – the Thien Mu pagoda and two ornate tombs of emperors. My favorite was the black tomb of Minh Mang, perched high on a hilltop with ornate mosaics. The tomb of Khak Dinh was impressive too – more of a horizontal hugeness rather that vertical like Minh Mang.
We had an excellent grilled pork (Bun thit) at a place Mark, our Hanoi street tour guide, recommended and some stranger fare at Hanh restaurant for dinner.
Not to worry. Not another broken arm (that was last year in Norway.) But I did have a bad enough earache, of all things, to visit a private hospital here in Hoi An and sure enough, I have an ear infection, which I am guessing came from my brief swim 🏊♀️ in Halong Bay a few days ago.
The impressive thing is that I was in and out of the hospital in about a half an hour and the doctor visit and antibiotics, pain killers ( giant ibuprofen) and ear drops cost about $50. I was ushered into an exam room within minutes of my arrival and attended to by no less than four men, whose jobs were unclear, and a female nurse who drifted in and out. The young hipster doctor in Levi’s and a crisp white shirt quickly arrived, looked in my ear and declared a minor infection requiring meds. After he left, one young man told us we had been seen by the hospital’s second best doc. The first, if we were understood him correctly, left to become something akin to a monk in Thailand.
We arrived at the Halo Homestay on the edge of Hoi An at about 2 pm after a very scenic 2-3 hour drive from Hue, with the same driver we hired yesterday from our hotel, the excellent Hue Riverside Villa, a five room eco-conscious, well-designed place perched on the Perfume River in the old Imperial city of Hue. This morning, after a passion fruit pancake ( more of a crepe) for me and scrambled eggs for Dirck, we toured the massive citadel/ imperial city, a bit daunting in the heat with an achy ear. Then our driver took the scenic route to Hoi An over a mountain pass, with quick visits to a fish farm and a gorgeous lagoon and a drive past high rises and resorts in Danang that reminded us a bit of Miami.
Th Halo Homestay, recommended by a young friend (20-something Emma C.) is a family home that lets a few rooms. We walked nearby for street food for lunch (Excellent grilled pork served on wood skewers, then rolled with greens into a wrap with dipping sauce) and later for dinner (at a place with lots of men drinking lots of beer.) we aren’t really sure what we ate but it was unusual and delicious, chosen by the woman serving us. One dish was made with what appeared to be wide noodles but was really some sort of veg, plus bits of pork and little shrimp, served with a plate size shrimp cracker and a salty sauce. The other dish was almost like a pork meat loaf or pate with a tomatoey sauce.
What a day. At 6 am, I stood on the sun deck of the La Paci cruise boat and took in the spectacular scene. Moon dropping on one side of the South China sea, sun rising on the other. Clearer blue skies than the day before showed the massive jagged rock formations in the Bay in even greater relief. We set out in the little “tender” motor boat to La Hah Bay, a more secluded part of Halong Bay (and the reason I chose this particular cruise.)
After lunch (not good), we ferried back to land and waited amidst a sea of international travelers for our bus back to Hanoi. Reminded me of our long gone days as young travelers and I can see how this trip might be a little strenuous for older folks (older than us 😚) although we have seen several hardly older European travelers.
I swam in the South China Sea this afternoon. The water was surprisingly warm and very salty and a dark murky green. Huge jagged limestone rock formations surrounded us then and now, popping up out of the sea like steep mountains, yellow and black limestone and covered at the tops in thick green vegetation resembling kudzu.
We drove out of the hectic city into countryside that was both old world and very new – rice fields, water buffalo, Palm trees, bicyclists on dirt lanes and then huge new high rise developments and the occasional modern factory.
This was my kind of day. Lots of adventures, Fantastic street food, a foot/arm massage /paraffin foot wrap and mani/pedi ($24), a beguiling water puppet show and we did not get run over by a motorcycle, motorbike, bike, truck or car (seemingly defying the odds). As expected, Hanoi is a chaotic, exotic place, full of commotion and life and energy.
We appear to have the only room with a balcony at the sweet little Hotel Anise, just north of the market on the northern edge of the Old District and it is a kick to sit on it, looking down and out from the 7th floor at the rush of activity day and night on the streets.
After all that, I stumbled into one of the many, many massage/nail salons and found it full of very nice American tourists from Philly, Chicago and Tampa. I had some sort of foot treatment that was very involved – I soaked my feet in a bucket with brown powder I was told (by the Chicagoan) is cinnamon, then the woman started cutting and scrapping in a podiatrist-like fashion, and placed each foot in a vat of very hot paraffin wax and each waxed foot was wrapped in cellophane (to soften the skin.)
We drove our new friends Christine and Alain to Sogndal this morning, where we visited the local pharmacy to pick up some pain pills for my arm from a kind pharmacist and had a last coffee togegether. We really enjoyed hanging out with them and hearing about their interesting lives in faraway places. They invited us to their old stone house in Provence and I have a feeling we will visit.
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TakeBetsywithyou 