Hello all,

Great to hear from various sources that everyone likes my blogs so I’ll ramp up the frequency whenever I can. Currently I’m in the imperial city of Hue, pretty French oriented here…

Today I went to the citadel of Hue and that’s pretty much everything this town has to offer.

But no problems because I really look forward to tomorrow’s drive. The famous “top gear” Ha Van pass between Hue and Hoi an. After the pass it should be way better weather and smooth sailing south.

So I’ll spend an extra 2$ to get some proper motorcycle gear and save my precious hands from getting rash in case I hit the tarmac.

It should be a 3hour drive to Hoi an but first some precious ‘off the beaten path’ Urbex (Urban exploring) in a abandoned waterpark here in Hue which according to the legend still has real alligators inside…

I’m still teamed up with Natasha for the moment but time flies and its almost time to separate and go our own ways.

I’ve decided to skip Nha trang as what I hear seems to be a beach resort city filled with Russians. (No wonder the last surfclub was closed in 2012)

But in a  month or so there will be ample opportunity to get a few nice waves (Perth, Australia & Bali, Indonesia … Possibly Malaysia or Manilla after that because I need an outbound ticket to get my Indonesian Visa)

For now I’m having a bit of food, then probably the beer will flow and the party can get started.

Well… I made the right call I guess. I am already getting a bit sick; so going into 12c water and freezing my ass off would’ve not been the best decision.

So I paid the entrance fee for Dark Cave but when I put on my boardshorts I was already shivering so much I didn’t want to push my luck. Everyone tells me it was really awesome but its not worth losing a few days of being sick. I need to make it south.

Apparently the weather around the world is changing because it has never been this cold around here. (Coldest day in Vietnam ever registered 25JAN) Everything is build for extreme hot weather, the locals are also pretty shocked about this temperature… And then you thought you left Holland for nice warm weather… Think again!

While my travelbuddy was doing the cave I decided to just drive around, I drove around the nicest road I’ve ever seen and almost made it all the way to Laos. My motorcycle experience comes in handy here, although the quality of the scooters is really bad! Also I kind of miss my gear, my boots, helmet, gloves, pants and jacket would be really nice now. Too bad I couldn’t minify it!

Ah well just be smart and I will be fine. (Mom I promise to be careful!) Although the helmet you got me is still in Netherlands, I’m taking the spirit with me!

— update 27 Jan 7:00 ICT

So I’m now in a mini-van, going to Hue via the DMZ (Vinh Moc Tunnel complex)

— update 9:40 ICT

The tunnels where impressive and made me realize how awful war is. Changes your mindset about refugees, more people should try it. But I can relate: its really hard to imagine if you are sitting in your central heated house having to go to Albert Heijn for some food and access to basically everything in the world at the click of a button.

And I saw the sea!!! With actual waves, they kind of reminded me of Holland. Brown murky water; not so much swell… But it got me stoked anyway.
Surfing is like heroin… Truly addictive! Oh I so miss surfing, I’m willing to get sick for a few nice rides ^-^

Update 13:00 ICT
Now arrives safely in Hue… Already halfway through Vietnam! Tomorrow the famous Hang Va pass (Top Gear drove it) and off to the tailors in Hoi An

OMG! Its fucking freezing!!! Really it’s Sooo cold, and im not prepared for this. I got here with a night bus and arrived at  04:00 the only good thing was I could obtain a highly desirable blanket only the Vietnamese guard woke me up at 6:00 and took it off me for some unobtrusive reason.

I’m back in Hanoi and its cold as ice here. Now preparing for a 10hour overnight trip down south. Hope it will be a bit warmer; but hey you’ve got to man up if you want to see one of the biggest caves in the world!

This time it’s really time to say goodbye to Hanoi for now. But who knows I might return here someday.

J from Hanoi; over and out!