Tag: Hue

Hue and Phong Nha – 4th June

Hue and Phong Nha – 4th June

Sunday 4th June was a very long day with a memorable and unpleasant journey.
We had some breakfast in the Emm Hotel which was very busy, then we packed and psyched ourselves up for the drive back to Phong Nha. Captain Caveman had booked us 2 seats on a minibus for the 210km which was estimated to take 4-5 hours. The pick up was from the DMZ bar in Hue so we took a Grab to there to get some lunch before the 1pm pick up.
I had the local dish, My Quang, which was really good, Captain Caveman had spring rolls and potato skins. A driver arrived a little later and we were ushered in to a car with 3 European tourists. They drove us to the nearest bus station where we were crammed on to a bus and I was forced to sit on the back seat. The journey was up there in my top 10 of terrible journeys as the AC duct was broken and hot air was blowing on to me. The guy next to me had very big and open legs when he slept so I was a bit squished and far too hot to deal with it.
I managed to get as far as Dong Hoi before dehydration got the better of me and I had a funny turn. We had to stop the bus and everyone had to wait for me while I found a toilet. We were in the middle of the main road but no obvious buildings, the driver pointed to what looked like a disused school but when I got there it was padlocked. I found an alternative but someone was already in and by this point passengers on the bus were calling out to try to help. I was in excruciating belly pain and spasms I’d not had since gastroenteritis in Goa!
Once back on the bus feeling somewhat embarrassed, Captain Caveman realised where he was sat was not as hot as my back corner seat!

We arrived in Phong Nha at 6pm and got dropped off at Central Backpackers Hostel, we said bye to our fellow passengers and walked as far as Tree House. We passed a new bar which was called Dubai and looked really out of place in such a rural town. Captain Caveman plonked me down with the bags, had some water and then went off to go get the motorbike from Oxalis so we could get home. I was an absolute dehydrated mess so I drank a litre of water, a vanilla milkshake, a soda water with lime and a fresh coconut. It was actually hotter at Tree House cafe than on the bus but at least I had a fan.

We had no food in at home so we decided to go for an Indian and I vaguely remember being there but by this time the headache had kicked in. I drank salted lime drinks and ate some chicken tikka and rice before getting on the back of Captain Caveman’s motorbike to go home to sleep. Tomorrow would be my last day with Captain Caveman before he went back to work so I had taken the day off to do something together.

Danang and Hue – 3rd June

Danang and Hue – 3rd June

Captain Caveman was far more hungover than me on the morning of Saturday 3rd June. He had gaps in his memory from last night and wasn’t too chatty. We checked out and walked to the limousine bus company for our 2 hour (92km) drive to Hue. The bus was departing at 9.50am but it may as well have been 6am as we were both feeling fragile. Captain Caveman had booked us in to Emm hotel for our last night of holiday before taking another bus back to Phong Nha.
I was so glad we weren’t taking a bus the whole way in such a hungover state.
Captain Caveman slept and sweated all the way to Hue and when we checked in, fortunately our room was available early and we had an upgrade. Captain Caveman got straight in to bed and I had to top up his water. I ate mangosteens which we had brought with us and are my favourite fruit.
The day was ruined because of too much frivolity last night but by 5pm, I’d had a nap and I was hungry. We got a Grab to a Vietnamese restaurant, called Chan, and I forgot to say ‘no chillies’ and had to eat round them on almost every dish. The food was good but I did get a reaction and had to stop eating. Our bill came to 411,000vnd (£13.56) for 3 soft drinks, 2 sticky rice, spring rolls, morning glory, pork and duck.
The reason for booking the Emm hotel was so that Captain Caveman could visit the Imperial Craft Bia place nearby. Unfortunately, we had to force a beer down and then we went back to the hotel and straight to bed. Tomorrow we were off back to Phong Nha, the holiday was almost over!

Hue to Phong Nha – 28th July

Hue to Phong Nha – 28th July

We were awake early, in Hue, on Thursday 28th July and still had a lot to pack in to our morning. The Purple Hue Homestay bed had been super comfy and it had been a nice 1 night stay for us. After packing our bags, ready for check out later, at noon, we went out for breakfast. It was unbearably hot in Hue and the sun and UV were so strong. Captain Caveman had decided on The Nook Eatery, where he’d been before, and it was lovely. The waitress was friendly and really sweet, with good English, she even gave us a card with some key Vietnamese phrases on and asked us to say them with her. Captain Caveman ordered a bacon, egg and tomato muffin and I went for a full fry up. I had a pot of earl grey tea and a juice, Captain Caveman had coffee and also juice. The food was very good and we enjoyed our breakfast. I gave Captain Caveman my sausage as I was full and didn’t want to be having a reaction on the long journey back.

Captain Caveman’s photos in Hue

Our next stop was to a coffee shop which Captain Caveman had been to before for salted caramel coffee, called Tan cafe. As soon as we walked in I had an overwhelming urge to get out; it was hot, smokey and stuffy and the smell of coffee was overpowering. I sat down, ordered a lemon juice and Captain Caveman ordered his salted caramel coffee. He messaged friends Vu and Ngoc to meet up and then we had to move tables as I was too hot. On the next table I started coughing, constantly and I felt like I needed to leave. Captain Caveman was disappointed and couldn’t understand what was wrong with me but he called me a taxi and off I went back to the homestay. As soon as I got outside I stopped coughing and felt so much better. I hate cigarette smoke anyway, but because I’m not used to it, I was coughing a lot. The taxi dropped me off somewhere near the homestay but it wasn’t obvious where, so Captain Caveman had to direct me to it over the phone. He had a great time and more salted caramel coffees with Vu, Ngoc and their daughter at Tan cafe and was back to check out, just before noon.

Captain Caveman had decided we would go to a cafe near to the train station where we could have another drink and wait until our train at 1.50pm. We got a taxi from Purple Hue Homestay to Mémoire Café, which was really lovely. It was open air so the heat was still an issue but there were lots of fans and we sat in the shaded area. The staff had been trained to be super polite and professional and kept themselves busy. On display was a violin and a cute canary, who was singing away. I ordered a drink which was one of the most unusual but refreshing cold drinks I’ve ever had and I couldn’t even tell you what was in it while Captain Caveman chose what he thought would be a simple orange juice but it came in a fancy bottle. We also got served and were topped up with complimentary water as we sat there for over an hour.

We walked to the train station which was just a few minutes away and were drenched in sweat by the time we got to the very full waiting room, where there were no seats left. There were 2 massage chairs available but if you sat on them the alarm went off so we stood and waited. The train got delayed but, by 2.30pm, we were on our way to Dong Hoi in our soft seats.

Aside from the guy across from us playing his phone loudly, which is now standard behaviour, the train journey was bearable. I messaged Maya at the Phong Nha Farmstay to let her know we were on our way back and I sent her a copy of my new visa stamp, for my last 30 days in Vietnam.
When we arrived at Dong Hoi train station, it was the busiest I’d seen it for Western tourists, in a while. We even bumped in to Duyet who was herding tourists up the street and seemed very busy. Our Oxalis driver, Dung, was already waiting and I was glad it was him as I like his driving.
When we got home, I unpacked my bag while Captain Caveman got on with making a Carbonara. We didn’t have much in stock but tomorrow Captain Caveman had to go to Dong Hoi for a medical and would call at the supermarket. It was just gone 9pm when we opened our last bottle of Primitivo red wine and ate our delicious dinner. The last 6 days, celebrating Captain Caveman’s birthday and me getting in and out of Vietnam, had been great fun but now it was time to have fun in Phong Nha for a bit.