Hue and Hoi An, Vietnam
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Hanoi to Hue, Vietnam --- 6 February
Flight from Hanoi to Hue ($73 p/p). Took a US$6 taxi from the Hue airport to the Duy
Tan Hotel centrally located in Hue. Took a walk around town and made arrangements for
our excursion for the following day.
Excursion from Hue to DMZ, Vietnam --- 7 February
Took an all-day tour to the DMZ, the former heavily militarized "demilitarized zone"
which during the Vietnam-US-war divided North Vietnam from South Vietnam ($10 p/p).
Visited battlefields including The Rockpile and KheSan Combat Base; some of the bunkers
seemed to be reconstructions. This excursion also visited a village of ethnic mountain
people. Most interesting was a visit to VinhMoc to go into the vast network of tunnels dug
manually for protection of the villagers from U.S. bombing and shelling by U.S. Naval
vessels.
Flight from Hanoi to Hue ($73 p/p). Took a US$6 taxi from the Hue airport to the Duy
Tan Hotel centrally located in Hue. Took a walk around town and made arrangements for
our excursion for the following day.
Excursion from Hue to DMZ, Vietnam --- 7 February
Took an all-day tour to the DMZ, the former heavily militarized "demilitarized zone"
which during the Vietnam-US-war divided North Vietnam from South Vietnam ($10 p/p).
Visited battlefields including The Rockpile and KheSan Combat Base; some of the bunkers
seemed to be reconstructions. This excursion also visited a village of ethnic mountain
people. Most interesting was a visit to VinhMoc to go into the vast network of tunnels dug
manually for protection of the villagers from U.S. bombing and shelling by U.S. Naval
vessels.
Renovated bunker at the DMZ, north of Hue, Vietnam.
Tank at the DZ, north of Hue, Vietnam.
Cruise from Hue on the Perfume River, Vietnam --- 8 February
Picked up from our hotel by a couple of motorbike taxis, we went on an all-day cruise ($2
per person) on the Perfume River with stops (some requiring more motorbike rides) to visit
temples, tombs and pagodas including Thien Mu Pagoda, Tu Duc Tomb, Khai Dinh Tomb, Hon
Chen Temple, and Minh Mang Tomb.
Picked up from our hotel by a couple of motorbike taxis, we went on an all-day cruise ($2
per person) on the Perfume River with stops (some requiring more motorbike rides) to visit
temples, tombs and pagodas including Thien Mu Pagoda, Tu Duc Tomb, Khai Dinh Tomb, Hon
Chen Temple, and Minh Mang Tomb.
Thien Mu Pagoda, Hue, Vietnam.
Cruise boats on the Perfume River, Hue, Vietnam
Stall in the market, Hue, Vietnam.
HoiAn, Vietnam --- 9 to 12 February
8am bus from Hue ($3), arriving in HoiAn about 2pm. Checked into Thanh Bin II Hotel
($30 per night). Had lunch and a pleasant walk in this historic town with a population of
75,000. Many fellow-travelers had told us HoiAn was their favorite town in Vietnam.
We visited several historic houses, the interesting market, the colorful riverfront, several
temples and museums, all within a convenient walk from our hotel.
We got to feel quite at home in HoiAn, taking walks through some of the residential areas
and market, visiting the CaoDai temple, taking a paddle-boat ride on the river, eating in
several restaurants, etc., and running into a few fellow-travelers we had met earlier on our
trip. From the balcony of our hotel room we enjoyed watching a Tet street parade
complete with band and dragon-dancers.
8am bus from Hue ($3), arriving in HoiAn about 2pm. Checked into Thanh Bin II Hotel
($30 per night). Had lunch and a pleasant walk in this historic town with a population of
75,000. Many fellow-travelers had told us HoiAn was their favorite town in Vietnam.
We visited several historic houses, the interesting market, the colorful riverfront, several
temples and museums, all within a convenient walk from our hotel.
We got to feel quite at home in HoiAn, taking walks through some of the residential areas
and market, visiting the CaoDai temple, taking a paddle-boat ride on the river, eating in
several restaurants, etc., and running into a few fellow-travelers we had met earlier on our
trip. From the balcony of our hotel room we enjoyed watching a Tet street parade
complete with band and dragon-dancers.
Our hotel in Hoi An, the Thanh Bin II.
Hoi An Market.
While in HoiAn we went on a
half-day excursion to the MySon
ruins of the Cham civilization.
Unfortunately these ruins were
almost completely flattened by
American bombings and other
disasters, leaving little to see. The
most interesting part was the
hour-long bus rides to and from the
ruins.
half-day excursion to the MySon
ruins of the Cham civilization.
Unfortunately these ruins were
almost completely flattened by
American bombings and other
disasters, leaving little to see. The
most interesting part was the
hour-long bus rides to and from the
ruins.
MySon ruins near HoiAn, Vietnam.