Jeffrey Donenfeld

Tag: hue

Biking from Hue to Hoi An, Vietnam

Next stop after Hue was our final destination of Hoi An, Vietnam. For this last leg, we rented motor scooters, and took to the open road.

Fueling up in the morning before departing town.

Out on the road, the views were beautiful.

For lunch, we stopped at the Langco Bay Banyan Tree Resort – a strangely desolated place which apparently fills up in seconds when package tourists arrive, and then empties completely when they depart. They did have a nice pool, though.

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Continuing on, we ascended up Hai Van Pass, before descending down the mountains towards Danang, and eventually Hoi An.
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Arriving at the Sunflower Hotel, finally in Hoi An.
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2013-06-10
Planting Rice

Hue, Vietnam is surrounded by rice paddies – and after literally months of seeing rice everywhere in SE Asia, I felt like I needed to know more. Through a few connections, I got connected with a woman who worked her rice paddies in a nearby village. I got driven out to her house, and then offered my services in planting rice in her field. We walked a short way out to the field, and planted rice for an hour or two. The work of planting rice was incredibly back breaking, and I now have a newfound respect for the people who work these fields.

2013-06-09
The Hue Imperial City

Next stop in Hue was the Hue Imperial Palace. From UNESCO:

Established as the capital of unified Viet Nam in 1802, Hué was not only the political but also the cultural and religious centre under the Nguyen dynasty until 1945. The Perfume River winds its way through the Capital City, the Imperial City, the Forbidden Purple City and the Inner City, giving this unique feudal capital a setting of great natural beauty.

Arriving at the entrance gate, the giant Vietnamese flag flying is a powerful symbol.

Inside the walls, corridors are elaborately decorated.

Naturally, I felt at home in the Imperial City, and decided to try on a few of my new clothes.

Outside the gates, this chicken stood guard over a busy intersection.
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2013-06-09
A Beach Bar in Hue, Vietnam

Hue was beautiful, in part because of the prime relaxation opportunities available – including this nice beach bar on an unnamed, pristine beach just outside of Hue, Vietnam.

To get there, we drove out to a spit of land, and then hiked through a shady bamboo tunnel.

The bar also has a few little cabanas to hang out in. Nobody really hangs out on the open sand – it’s so hot, feet get burnt in a matter of moments. But in the shade, drinks are served, and the cool breeze blows.

Smoothies and fresh caught clams. Yes please.

Down the beach a ways, there are a few fishermen, who sit in the shade under their beached boats during the hot midday sun and repair fishing nets.

2013-06-09
Arrival in Hue, Vietnam

A few days on the road, and finally we were in our first larger town, Hue, Vietnam. We stayed at a local hostel, and upon checking into our dorm rooms, immediately grabbed a few bikes and set off to watch the sunset, again, over the farmland. Hue is a beautiful town, and it took just moments on bikes to ride from the center of town to pristine rice paddies.

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Cruising on out of town on our hip bikes. Biking in Vietnam is instantly great.
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On the outskirts of town, we got to see all sorts of neat propaganda billboards.
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Soon, rice paddies are everywhere, with sun glinting off the water between perfectly even rows.

And of course, what good is a sunset bikeride without a perfect dinner at the end? Some local flavors at one of the best restaurants of the trip.

2013-06-08
Going Inside the Vinh Moc Tunnels, Vietnam

On our way down to Hue, we made one brief, but solid stop at the Vinh Moc Tunnels. From Wikipedia:

Vinh Moc (V?nh M?c) is a tunnel complex in Quang Tri, Vietnam. During the Vietnam War it was strategically located on the border of North Vietnam and South Vietnam. The tunnels were built to shelter people from the intense bombing of Son Trung and Son Ha communes in Vinh Linh county of Quang Tri Province in the Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone. The American forces believed the villagers of Vinh Moc were supplying food and armaments to the North Vietnamese garrison on the island of Con Co which was in turn hindering the American bombers on their way to bomb Hanoi. The idea was to force the villagers of Vinh Moc to leave the area but as is typical in Vietnam there was nowhere else to go. The villagers initially dug the tunnels to move their village 10 metres underground but the American forces designed bombs that burrowed down 10 metres. Eventually against these odds, the villagers moved the village to a depth of 30 metres. It was constructed in several stages beginning in 1966 and used until early 1972. The complex grew to include wells, kitchens, rooms for each family and spaces for healthcare. Around 60 families lived in the tunnels; as many as 17 children were born inside the tunnels.

Since the area above the tunnels was continuously pummeled by bombs during the war, bomb craters are everywhere – and huge.

Concrete ditches run everywhere, allowing the people living in the tunnels to sneak around on the surface, and fight against enemies on the land.
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The tunnels sit on a hillside looking over the South China Sea. It’s a beautiful view.

Inside, the tunnels are very very small and cramped – it’s amazing that anybody was able to live in there for as long as they did.

2013-06-06