Hoi An to Hue

I woke up today and was able to chat with some of the other guests at breakfast.

From there, one last ride into town to get some gifts that I had seen, I won't say what they are though.

Then I boarded my transit. I had arranged the transit through my hotel in Hue. I had an English speaking driver.  We first stopped at the Marble Village in Da Nang, which effectively was just a place that sells marble. Then onto Marble Mountain. I spent about 30-45 minutes walking around the mountain and seeing the various religious sites.

Then it was off to the Hai Van Pass, at the top of which was an old US bunker and some type of Chinese fortification or gate from long ago.  It used to be that the only way to get between the two cities was to take the pass, which is quite winding. However, recently a tunnel opened that cuts the time down significantly and actually makes the whole road a lot safer.

From there it was onto Lang Co beach where I ate the baguettes the hotel in Hoi An had sent with me. Then it was on to Hue, with an arrival around 230.

I checked in and chilled and then headed out to a local restaurant called Risotto for dinner which was practically next door to my hotel. 

Christmas Eve (My Son)

So Christmas Eve Day. I had arranged a tour through my hotel to visit My Son.  Which is not pronounced how we think it should be in English. It's kind of more like "may shan", which means beautiful mountain in Vietnamese.

I really wanted to go to My Son. I loved the site, my tour was awful and the guide was even worse.  For one, they were 1/2 hour late picking up everybody. Once we arrived at the big bus,  because yes were were on a bus will well over 50 people on it, I learned the worst part to come. The tour guide. The gentleman leading the tour had good English, but his voice was like nails on a chalkboard for me. And he repeated words and information over and over again.

Roosters, dogs and Hoi An

Monday night going into Tuesday I spent the night on an overnight train from Saigon to Da Nang, which is the nearest train station to Hoi An, where I am now. I was in a so called "soft sleeper" meaning there were only 4 beds in each compartment. Despite being the most expensive option in the train I swore at various times of the night I hear a rooster crowing and a dog barking.  And I wasn't the only one. 

Hoi An is known as the Lantern City