Wednesday January 16 we had a rain day. We walked around Hue, found the Post Office of Vietnam, mailed a letter and wandered the streets stopping for coffee and snacks along the way. We finished of the afternoon with a 90 minute massage for about $25 CAD each. We felt pampered and ready for supper at the Elegant Restaurant which we visited on the city tour the day before. We had a great meal. We both had Chicken skewers with vegetables done on a grill.
Travel from Hue to Hoi An
Today we headed to Hoi An from Hue. We had a car booked, we thought for 8:00. When we arrived in lobby to check out they said they’d call the driver to come early as he was supposed to be there at 8:30. They said it was a pleasant change for guests to be ready to go as usually the drivers have to wait. They hadn’t even finished phoning the driver and one walked in the door. They proceeded to load all our stuff and I waited in the car while Gary ran to the washroom. Next thing I know there is a big panic that it’s the wrong car and driver so they proceeded to unload everything! No worries our driver showed up only minutes later and by 8:05 we were on the road. On the way we went through the Hai Van Tunnel , the longest tunnel in Southeast Asia at 6.28 km (3.90 mi) that lies on Highway 1 between the cities of Hue and Da Nang. We arrived at our hotel just after 11:00. It rained the entire way!
The Van Hai pass tunnel is 11.9 m wide and the longest tunnel in Southeast Asia at 6.28 km . A second tunnel running alongside the main tunnel is currently used for maintenance and emergencies but it is planned to expand this at a later date as traffic increases. It is connected to the main tunnel by 15 cross-tunnels. The tunnels have lighting, fire alarms, communication, water supply and treatment, ventilation fans, and radio broadcast systems. We texted Gary’s Mom in Saskatoon, Canada while we were in the tunnel!
We were too early to check in so stashed our bags with the front desk. They provided us with a map, some recommendations and an umbrella! We headed out. Trying to navigate with an umbrella is enough to make you crazy, if not wet. The streets are narrow and vehicles and motorbikes park on the sidewalks as there is no where else to park. In many spots you can’t get down the sidewalk because of parked vehicles, awnings, posts, hanging wires or any number of hazards! The alternative is to try and walk on the street and not get taken out by a cyclist, motorbike, car, bus or truck which are all jockeying for space and trying to zoom by as quickly as possible. We safely, although wet, did arrive at one of the recommended tailors. Gary got measured for a suit and some dress shirts. I got measured for a jacket and dress. After looking at tons of material and options we finally settled on our selections and negotiated a price. The tailor then walked us down the street to her sister’s shop where she makes custom leather goods. Linda ordered a pair of sandals and a hand bag. We go back later tomorrow afternoon for fittings on everything.
From there we found our way back to our hotel to exchange our soggy running shoes for flip flops. The entire umbrella experience didn’t improve as we ended up in the market area where the streets are even skinnier. We finally found a coffee shop where we could get out of the rain! We ordered mocha coffees, chicken Pho and some good old French fries. After killing as much time as we could we headed back to the hotel. And yes, it continued to rain! We got checked in. Our room is on the 4th floor and is a bit of a hike up all the stairs. The room reminds me of the bedrooms at our farm house with sloping ceiling/walls and a beam I’m sure at some point one of us will crack our head on.
We scouted out a Thai restaurant fairly close to our hotel and had supper there. It’s still raining!! Not too sure what we’ll do tomorrow as it makes it very difficult to sight see in this weather. Looking at the weather forecast we will likely have rain for all of our stay in Hoi An which is too bad as everyone has been telling us how great it is.
We managed to make it through today but it hit the pocket book hard. Suits, shirts, coat, shoes and purse.