kex said:
wow 30.5hr! ?
i been to hanoi last yr,so this yr go HCM--->Hue-->hoi an-->nha trang--->hcm route..
any idea whether lonely planet covers the above places?
i can only find info on HCM on lonely planet website..
Any interesting places in Hue and hoi an ??
Kex if you need a Lonely Planet guide to Vietnam covering these places, you can borrow mine no problem. Just drop me a PM with your tel no. I will even include free souvenir postcards so you don't have to buy ;-)
Hue is a fairly small and compact place. I think 2 days is about enough. Rent a bicycle or motorbike to help facilitate exploring - for me, it's mandatory in order to save time and effort not having to walk too much. I got so badly sunburnt cycling around (in summer) that I needed to buy sunburn lotion. The old imperial palace ruins/Citadel, the market, er, that's about it - the entry for Hue in the Lonely Planet guide is therefore understandably short. Spend some money hiring a guide to the palace ruins. It's quite good to get a running commentary in order to make sense of the place. And then cycle or motorcycle around the OUTSIDE of the palace, within the Citadel. It's a very charming place. Oh, that funny lighted bridge does have a direction to the footpaths. If you take the 'wrong' direction, the lights can be pretty blinding - get there and you'll know what I mean. Have a meal at the Mandarin Cafe. The guilo food is excellent and the owner is quite a picture buff. He can arrange excursions to some imperial tombs from the cafe. I then got a car to take me from Hue to Hoi An, which was the fastest way to get there. There are also buses.
I spent 4.5 days vege-ing out in Hoi An (I didn't make it to HCM that trip because I found Hoi An quite charming). Nice place just to do nothing but it's admittedly very touristy by Vietnamese standards. I stayed outside the town and rented a motorbike. I had never rode one before. I figured if I could operate a bicycle, how hard is a motorbike right? ;-) Took me half and hour to figure things out going up and down the road from the hotel. It was an extremely liberating experience but I kinda chickened out on riding the bike to the Marble Mountains. Next time, next time.......
Oh, petrol is always cheaper at the proper petrol stations. The locals are kinda proud of their tailoring but be warned, most of the stuff ARE crap quality, AFTER the first wash ;-) Food is generally very good in Hoi An. The Brothers Cafe branch in Hoi An is spectacular - er, as are the prices unfortunately......
I didn't visit the nearby Champa ruins (My Son) when I was there but I plan to the next time. You should join the half-day excursion to the ruins. Apparently there's one that goes there by bus and back by boat. Sounded interesting.
Apparently at least one budget airline flies direct to Danang now. Danang airport is the nearest one to Hoi An. About 30-40 minutes by car to Hoi An from Danang.
