Our bus takes us to Vietnam's North. We head through a 5 km tunnel and descend the dramatic Hai Van Pass and continue through the rural country side. We pass picturesque fishing villages and then on to Hue...



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Hue is the former imperial capital of Vietnam. It's the cultural and religious center of the country. There is much to see and do here but first we head to lunch at a small local cafe. This restaurant is supported by Intrepid Travel. It's run by a hearing disabled man & his family. Some of the proceeds go to help within the hearing impaired community for their welfare and education. We had a great time watching Lac Thien open beer bottles with his special invention bottle opener. (We are now the proud owner of our very own that he gave to us!) Everybody that passes through autographs the walls and ceiling. There is hardly an inch that isn't covered with names of travelers from all over the world. It was such fun to stand on top of the refrigerator and create some art work of our own there.

Next stop: The Citadel. This is the former palace of the last ruling emperor of Vietnam. We wandered around the Ancient Royal City which covers 520 hectors and is completely surrounded by a moat. Please click here for more info and some nice pics.




The next day we are off on a motor cycle tour. Everybody gets a driver and 12 bikes zoom off around the city and countryside. We had a blast stopping at various sites including the Dong Ba Market where there were fortune tellers and ....coffee! We boarded a "dragon boat" and headed down the Perfume River. A stop was made at the Thein Mu Pagoda. From here, in 1963, a monk drove their Austin car to Saigon and set himself on fire to protest the persecution of Buddhist. We both remember seeing that on TV when we were in high school. The Austin is still at the pagoda and is preserved as a reminder of those hard times.


The motor cycles were waiting to pick us up and we roared off to a monastery for lunch with Buddhist nuns. They put on a delicious vegetarian feast. This is another of the local business causes supported by Intrepid Travel. It is rewarding to travel and be able to contribute in a meaningful way straight to the working people. Good on ya Intrepid Travel.

Tonight we board a train for the 12 hour overnight ride to Hanoi.....