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Hoi An

Hoi An… What can I say… A friendly small town after being harassed for marijuana every 2 minutes  by some scooter drivers in Hue the relaxing atmosphere is just nice.

Everyone tells me you’ll meet people and then if you’re heading in the same direction you are sure to meet them again. This proves it: I needed a teammate for a game of Beer Pong and guess who shows up…

After a relaxed night it was time to make some plans. My buddy was anxious to go to Mỹ Sơn (temple complex about a two hour drive by scooter from here)

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Mỹ Sơn and Natasha

I cannot really recommend it, I will explain why. The temples (9th century) would’ve been really really nice apart from the fact that the USA bombarded the whole site and the only thing whats left of it is a few piles of rubble. The only thing I could think of the whole time I was there was… What a shame.

Just like what happened to Palmyra… Horrible.

After another great night out in bar “why not?” Today is pretty sunny. I’ve rented a bicycle for a day to cruise around, and reached the eastern edge of Southeast Asia.

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The plans for the upcoming week. Tonight at 17:00 ICT I’ll hop on the night bus to Da Lat via Nha Trang. The first part is a 15hour drive then at about 9:00 tomorrow another 5 hours to reach Da Lat. Then it’s time for me and Natasha go our own ways again and I’ll be heading to Mui Ne (Kitesurfing!!!) And catch my flight on new year’s eve to Bangkok.

In Bangkok I’ll try and get a few hours of sleep and welcome my little sister in Asia.

But backpacker plans are made to be ignored and changed so who knows!

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Hải Vân Pass To Hoi An

So… In the midst of my upload my account at Leaseweb got suspended. But these great folks got me up and running again within two hours!!! :) thanks everyone!

What a day! I started in Hue. Got a motorcycle (Honda RSX 110cc) and motovina got my bags shipped to Hoi An. Then we started by going to an abandoned waterpark in Hue. The place looks amazing, at night you would be able to host some horrific haunted house your.

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Jurassic park?!?

The place has been overgrown by nature, super cool but probably freaky at night.

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Waterslide... Or what is left of it...

The place was absolutely stunning in its own way; best part: no entry fee :)

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What was one a water show

Then we set off for what Jeremy Clarkson said to be the most stunning road in the world. The Hai Van pass.

What an epic road!!! Seriously the best I’ve ever ridden. Just watch out for goats, cows, trucks and potholes 😉

As a picture says more than a thousand words:

The view… No words to describe it.

See for yourself:

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After passing the clouds, we got into a new climate: sun, sea and temperatures in the double digits. Just… WOW!

As you have Jezus watching over Rio, you’ve got a budda watching over Da Nang.

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After all that tarmac, butt sore from the motor it was time to chill out. Finally a beer by the pool…

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Tomorrow its time to visit some tailors in Hoi An and plan everything well ahead of the Vietnamese New year (Tet)

Tonight its time to get into a bit of party as I’m planning to stay here for two nights and head down to Dalat.

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Jay!

J.

Hue

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…

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A golden Dragons ass with a view on the palace

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

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Random roof in the citadel

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.

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Selfie at one of the entrance gates

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.

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Natasha at some pond in the citadel

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.

Taking No risk of getting sick

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.

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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