Vietnam Trip Day 6

On Day 6, we left Hoi An for Hue, which is still in the central part of Vietnam.  On our way out of town we made a quick stop at a marble factory where they were making beautiful statues.  It was really interesting to watch them chisel and carve the stone.  Here is a photo of a very large Buddha.

We drove through Da Nang and stopped at the Cham museum, which contains the finest collection of Cham sculptures in the world.  Here is another statue of Shiva (with his head and extra arms).

Da Nang is on the coast and has some really pretty beaches.  It was a very warm and sunny morning and I asked our guide why there was no one on the beaches.  He said that the Vietnamese only go to the beach in the very early morning and in the evening as they don't want to be out in the sun very much. 

 

We then headed up into the mountains and through a pass called Pass of Ocean Clouds.  It was a very beautiful drive.  You could tell that our driver, who was sort of young, really enjoyed driving on the curvy mountain roads.  We rolled down the car windows and enjoyed the breeze.  

 At the top of the mountain, we stopped for a rest.  There we saw bunkers that were used during the Vietnam (American) war:

 

As we came down the other side of the mountain we could see the fishing village of Lang Co where we had lunch.

We had lunch with our guide and driver at a local Vietnamese restaurant.  Really awful picture of me.

 

You can see more of the restaurant here.  The people live in the house next to the restaurant.  You can sort of see it in the background.

Our drive was leisurely, so we were able to stop and take photos anytime we wanted.  I thought these round boats were so interesting.

 

Here is a city view of Hue (pronounced Hwey) from our hotel room. 

After we rested a bit from our long drive, it was time to explore this new city.  Ho Chi Minh (or Uncle Ho as he is fondly called) is everywhere.  Can't remember what this sign says, but I think it's some kind of communist propaganda.

We found a little place by the river so we sat there for a while.  A young guy at the next table, who couldn't speak any English, just came over and sat down with us.  He really liked Max's camera so he took a few photos of us and we took some of he and our waitress who he seemed to know quite well.  She eventually sat down with us, also.

After that it was off to dinner.  We had a great meal in this little restaurant.  You can barely see me on the left in the photo.

 

Love to you all!

Karen