Hoi An to Hue, Viet Nam.

21st August, 2012.

 

Back to the trusty map.  This morning, we drove north from Hoi An to Hue (pronounced “whey” as in “curds and whey”.

Map from http://www.vietnamstay.com/tour/vietnaminyoureyes_map.htm

 

The scenery was very attractive.

 

We stopped at a marble carving factory at Non Nuoc, on the southern outskirts of Đà Nẵng.

 

Smoothing this out with a piece of sandpaper looked like pretty hard work.

 

There were more marble statues than I’ve ever seen in one place before.

 

The place was extremely hard-sell, with sales girls attaching themselves to us like limpets …..

 

….. but I didn’t really want a marble bath …..

 

….. or a laughing Buddha, to rub for luck …..

 

….. or even a pair of lions.

 

There was even a Christian section …..

 

….. with a benevolent St Joseph.

 

From the marble factory, we could see the Linh Ung Pagoda on the side of a hill.

 

Some people on the tour wanted a closer look at it, so off we went.  Linh Ung Pagoda was built facing the sea on the cliff of Thuy Son Mountain in the 19th century. It was rebuilt in 1970 with contributions from Buddhist followers.

 

The renovations included this very impressive elevator, 50 metres high.  How spectacular!

 

From where the elevator deposited us on the side of the mountain, we could look to the east and see the sea, and some contrasting styles of building.

 

We could also look inland and see The Marble Mountains (Ngu Hanh Son), a cluster of five marble mountains lying close to the sea. 

“In the early 19th century, Gia Long King, founder of the Nguyen dynasty, named the five mountains according to each of the five elements of nature: Kim Son (metal), Moc Son (wood), Hoa Son (fire), Tho Son (earth), and Thuy Son (water). Of the five mountains, Thuy Son (where the pagoda is built) is both the largest and the most beautiful.”  From http://www.worldheritageroad.com/danang/danang-sightseeing.htm

 

Entrance to Linh Ung Pagoda.

We wandered around the pagoda for a bit, enjoying the tranquillity and the views, although it did involve a lot of stair climbing.  Then we went back down the whiz bang elevator and back onto the bus to continue our journey.

 

The beach near Đà Nẵng was used for R&R by US soldiers during the America-Viet Nam war.  They called it China Beach, (a name not used by the Vietnamese), and it inspired the TV series of the same name.

This section is My Khe Beach (I think) and from here you can see the 67-metre-high Buddha statue on the Son Tra peninsula.

 

Woodley (and others) check out the water.

 

These basket boats, made entirely from bamboo, then sealed with tar, are typical of the central coast of Viet Nam.  You can just see the giant Buddha in the background.

 

Woodley checks out a basket boat, watched by the giant Buddha.

Đà Nẵng is the fifth largest city in Viet Nam.  During the America-Viet Nam war, the city was home to a major air base that was used by both the South Vietnamese and United States air forces. The base was considered one of the world's busiest airports during the war, reaching an average of 2,595 air traffic operations daily, more than any airport in the world at that time.

 

Fishing nets.  Presumably they are lowered into the water as required.

 

Just north of Đà Nẵng is the Hải Vân Pass, which in Vietnamese means  "ocean cloud pass".  This is an approximately 21 km long mountain pass on National Road 1A, which traverses a spur of the large Annamite Range that juts into the South China Sea between Đà Nẵng and Hue.  The pass, which once formed the boundary between the kingdoms of Dai Vet and Champa, also forms a boundary between the climates of northern and southern Vietnam, sheltering the city of Đà Nẵng from the "Chinese winds" that blow in from the northwest. During the winter months (November–March), for instance, weather on the north side of the pass might be wet and cold, while the south side might be warm and dry

The twisting road on the pass has long been a challenge for drivers travelling between the cities of Đà Nẵng and Hue.  The opening in 2005 of the 6.28km Hai Van Tunnel - the longest tunnel in Southeast Asia -  has offered an alternative road across the pass, and reduced travel times by at least an hour.  Since the completion of the tunnel – the way we came - traffic flow and safety have improved.

 

Lang Co is an attractive, island-like stretch of palm-shaded white sand, with a turquoise lagoon on one side and 10 kilo­metres of beachfront on the other.

Lang Co was devastated by a major typhoon in late 2006, but within a few weeks all of the resorts had reopened and rebuilding was well underway.

 

It was seriously hot when we stopped briefly at Lang Co, so most of the people were under the shady palms, drink in hand.

 

 

After Lang Co, we passed more mountains.

 

We finally arrived at the very comfortable Huong Giang Hotel in Hue.