Day 1

Leaving Hoi An at around 11am, we headed to the My Son ruins, one of the oldest examples of ruins and archaeological discoveries in South East Asia. A cluster of abandoned Hindu temples, these ruins were allowed to descend into ruin for centuries, until they were discovered by a French archaeologist in the 1900s.
He and his team, linked with a university in Vietnam, restored some of the ruins to their former glory after the years of battle and wars they have seen. The site also offers a free electric shuttle to save your legs, and even have a couple of fried food options, which we decided to avoid and head straight back on the road towards Da Nang before sunset.

We checked into LA Beach Hotel, based completely on the basis of a free breakfast buffet. We headed straight to find food, with Google leading us straight to Bao An Macrobiotic with the promise of fresh vegan food. We were greeted by a sweet lady who was super apologetic in only being able to offer a limited menu - but we were so hungry, we just went with her recommendations of noodles, spring rolls and sweet & sour soup. I seriously cannot stop thinking about these noodles! Chewy brown rice noodles, coated in a sweet and creamy home made peanut butter, perfectly seasoned with soy and lime and a big cucumber & lettuce salad. Topped with fried spring rolls and accompanied by unlimited free ginger tea, plus a strange chalky biscuit to finish with the bill, this experience was amazing.

I was also on the hunt for an amazing che, of which Da Nang is apparently the queen. I was surprised to find that the best-rated shop on Google Maps didn’t offer che bap (corn) so we headed down the road to a che shop with an extensive menu. I ordered che bap, whilst Fab ordered a ‘coconut sticky rice che’ which actually just turned out to be gelatinous chewy coconut balls in coconut milk. So on second thoughts, he ordered a ‘banana steamed pudding’ which was caramelised banana, served in condensed coconut milk with endless white tapioca pearls. Heaven! We continued exploring Da Nang by night, before flopping into the comfort of our bed and getting the sweetest sleep.

Day 2

Free brekkie was a success! We filled up on so much pho, salad, eggs, oranges and rice paper concoctions. After making sure we had our fill of food, we made a quick pit-stop at Bicicleta cafe for a sweet coffee treat, before hitting the road.

We were vaguely following Style motorbike’s suggested route, which included a walk to the top of a peak to overlook the whole of Da Nang. However, the weather was closing in and clouds were lying low, meaning that visibility was poor and the rain was descending! We decided to continue on our journey over the Hai Van Pass whilst the weather held out, thinking we could maybe pass through this peak on our return leg. The Pass really delivered on the views, as we stopped a few times to soak up the vistas and rolling hills. I expected to see many bikes and tourists on the route, but was pleasantly surprised by how rural the road has remained.

After the pass, we stopped at a small local food stall and were again so surprised by a complete feast of C’om Binh Dan - crispy chilli fried whitebait, garlic sautéed morning glory, chilli braised cabbage and sticky rice, plus endless nuoc cham (chilli fish vinaigrette) which was incredible and only cost 50,000d for us both.

Back in Hue after the 3 hour journey, we decided to base ourselves closer to all the places of importance so that we could use our legs a lot more, choosing Sunny A Hotel, where we checked in and got a cheap local coffee nearby. After a quick workout (blogpost to follow about working out whilst travelling!) we headed back to our favourite spot near DMZ bar, where we found big 500ml Huda bottles for only 16k, as well as a big packet of spiced sunflower seeds to nibble our way through.

We also decided to return to Lien Hoa on this trip, after our amazing vegan meal. Although they had a more limited menu this time, we ordered the smoked sesame mecan (we are still unsure what this actually is, but was delicious,) vermicelli noodles with peanut and veggies, plus smoked tofu in sweet chilli tomato sauce which is a local delicacy. This meal was so good, plus our 12k Huda beer cans, and we decided to have an early night ahead of another long day in Hue.

Day 3

With a craving for a carb-heavy breakfast, we begun our hunt for banh mi. We actually ended up at a local stall which was a complete let-down, and highlighted again how much I hate ordering bad food! But followed this up with a cheap 10k coffee and hopped back on the moped to adventure further afield.

Last time we were in Hue, our hosts told us that other guests had been able to enter the abandoned water park around 15 minutes drive from the city centre, for a small bribe to the security guards there. We never encountered any guards, but did meet people on the way to and from the park who had actually been turned away from entering - we simply paid 10k to some lovely old women to park the bike, and off we wandered. The park was actually pretty cool; I wouldn’t say it’s a must-see, but if you find yourself with a few spare hours in the city, I’d recommend checking it out.

We raced back to Dong Ba market in search of a papaya, buying the biggest ripe bad-boy we could find for 30k. We shared this with the strongest cold brew coffee for 10k over the road, then headed to Clam Island in search of Con Hen - a delicacy that can be found all over the city, and as far as Hoi An too, but which originated on this small island accessed by a couple of bridges set away from the main town. I opted for clam noodles, served warm with plenty of peanuts, herbs, tiny clams and a side of steaming hot fish soup. They also offered century-old eggs, which we peeled and dipped in peppery salt for only 1k each. This delicious, fresh and crunchy lunch only cost us 10k, and with the amazing find of a steamed cob of corn on the way back, our day was making huge improvements since our awful banh mi this morning.

We stopped off at Salt Coffee (yet again) for a salty coffee each and the most meaningful DMC we have had whilst travelling, something I will cover in a blog post soon. We then scooted around the city in the dark, in search of the ‘university food’': bbq’d sweet potatoes and sweet corn, dipped in chilli ketchup and enjoyed before the heat of the fire. We were actually in search of bun nit trong, a barbecued pork and vegetable noodle dish, but everywhere seemed to be closed - perhaps because it was a Sunday, or maybe because of the Coronavirus epidemic that was unfolding day by day. We ended up back near our hotel, at a local restaurant which served a delicious portion for us to share.

Day 4

We headed back to Dong Ba market, bought a beautiful papaya and headed back to Salt Coffee for the fourth and final time of our trip. Fab ordered a coffee yogurt, whilst I opted for my favourite *ca phe sua phin da* (iced milk filter coffee.)
We hopped back on our trusty moped and scooted back over the Hai Van Pass, back to Da Nang and in search of a Vietjet office (for various reasons I will soon cover!) I was so happy to have completed this journey in both directions; the weather on this day was pretty miserable and grey, but the views were epic.