| Day 1 Dong Ha to Hue, Vietnam Kilometers 72 Miles 43.2 |
| Cycle Touring Routes > Vietnam > Dong Ha to Nha Trang > Map > Day |
Road/Ride - Hwy 1A. The road is sealed the entire
way with a wide sealed shoulder.
Pedaling south on Hwy 1 is not as bad as we had
anticipated. Most of the traffic is scooters and
bicycles.
There were stretches when there was no vehicle
traffic, only bikes and scooters.
The persistent habit drivers have of honking and
the incessant beeping of the scooters is at times
startling and most of the time annoying.
Food and drinks all along this ride. Very built up
with stores, restaurants and homes.
The locals are always calling out to us Hello. It
took us 2 days before we learned how to say hello
in Vietnamese because none of the locals use it.
Hills - None what so ever. Yuppie!
Weather - We rode with a nice tail wind but it was
rainy, gray, wet, chilly and muddy the whole day.
The shoulder is covered in a thick slippery mud
and by the end of the ride our panniers, calves,
socks, shoes and bikes were covered in a thick
orange mud that resembled clay.
Car-Wash - We decided to power hose our packs
and bikes at the first gas station with a car wash
we found when we entered Hue. We thought it
best to have clean bikes before searching for a
hotel.
Cost $1.00 for both bikes.
Hue is a large, bustling city with a mixture of
historical and modern buildings built on both sides
of the Song Huong River (Perfume River). Hue is
known as the Imperial City because it is home to
the ancient walled citadel and the Imperial Palace.
Most of the sites are designated historical sites
and are being restored and maintained by
UNESCO.
The city has a nice layout with wide avenues,
public spaces, parks and a lovely promenade
along the river. Built along the Perfume River this
city is well equipped to handle and cater
successfully to many local and foreign tourists.
As we entered the city from the north we pedaled
past the walled city and crossed into the modern
section of town over the Trang Tien Bridge. This
bridge is only open to car traffic for very limited
hours in the day. We crossed over the river with
along side hundreds of scooters and bicycles and
made our way to the touristy area of town which is
sandwiched between D Le Loi and S Vo Thi Sau
streets on Pham Ngu Lao and Chu Van An.
The city has everything a traveler would need,
several lively central markets, well-stocked
souvenir shops, trendy restaurants with
Vietnamese and international food, plenty of
internet cafes, one good bakery, bookstores and
for those looking for some culture plenty of
historical sites to keep a traveler occupied for
several days.
In addition to the Imperial City, the surrounding
area also is famous for the Royal tombs and a few
unique pagodas.
Cycling is a great way to get around town and
about 95% of the locals either ride a bicycle or
scooter.
Best purchase yet - I bought a plastic rain poncho
for 3,000 dong (.18) and absolutely love it! All the
roadside vendors have them hanging inside tiny
zip lock bags. It weighs nothing and it covers my
entire body. I can wear it while I pedal and then
fold it up tight and slip it into my handle bar bag
when the rain stops. I can't take credit for this
amazing idea. All the locals on bikes and scooters
whip theirs out whenever it rains. Recommend.
Second best purchase - Silk Sleeping bags. Bed
bugs have caused us some sleepless nights and
we were longing for this. We found a souvenir
shop in Hue that sold them for 110,000 dong
($6.80). They're 100% silk and well made and are
very light weight.
Things to do in Hue - We took a tour of the city with
City Tours (27 Vo Thi Sau Street). Highly
recommend this company. Our guide spoke fluent
English and she kept the tour on time. The tour
visits 3 emperors tombs, Minh Mang, Khai Dinh
and Tu Duc, a conical hat and incense making
village (a brief stop for photo opportunity), the
Citadel and Imperial walled City and the Thien Mu
Pagoda.
The tour ends with a river cruise down the Perfume
River back to town. Lunch at the City Tours
restaurant in Hue was included in the price and
they offer a delicious vegetarian option. We
booked the tour through Sinh Café at 12 Hung
Voung Rd.
Price per person was $7.00.
We also visited the Ho Chi Minh Museum small,
but it does have some interesting black and white
photographs taken of the Citadel, the city and the
country during the Vietnam War.
More fun is the Dong Ba Cho (market) on the north
bank of the river just next to the Trang Tien Bridge,
on Tran Hung Dao.
This market is like a world on it's own. Vendors
are mostly women who are very entertaining and
lively. They seem to think they know exactly what
you need. It's amusing to watch them pick up the
most obscure item in their stall and hand it us. The
market does have everything a tourist could want
including a good variety of souvenirs, and
nick-knacks. We found fresh fruit and vegetables,
tofu, dried fruits, chewy nut candies and tea.
The best bakery we found in town is the Hung
Voung Bakery. The bakery is the ground floor of
the Houng Voung Inn (guesthouse) at 20 D Hung
Voung Rd. They make pastries and bake fresh
bread daily. Goodies include chocolate
croissants, banana cream cake, home-made
tropical fruit marmalade, long baguettes and much
more. The baked goods vary from day to day.
One thing we didn't expect to like is the
Vietnamese coffee. It's very strong with
condensed milk at the bottom. Once you have it
you can't control yourself to more.
The main post office in Hue was open on Sunday
as early as 7:00 a.m. There are several post office
branches in town and they all have telephone
booths to make national international calls
inexpensively.
ATM's are everywhere and most are attached to
the bigger hotels. WiFi access is available at
some hotels and restaurants too and internet cafes
are everywhere and the price is really cheap.
Slept - Hai Dang Hotel
Location - 43D Hung Vuong Rd
Cost - $12.00
Amenities - Nicely decorated, small room with two
beds, armoire, table and two chairs. A/C, fan, en
suite bath with hot water. Fridge, TV with 1 English
Channel. The price includes breakfast of coffee or
tea, bread and fruit served in the hotel lobby.
Note - We moved out of the Hai Dang Hotel after
one night. The receptionist told us it was okay to
lock the bikes overnight in a back room inside the
hotel but when we carried them inside in the
evening the Manager gave us a hard time. So we
decided to move to another hotel since there are
so many to choose from.
Slept -Dong Loi Hotel
Located -19 Pham Ngu Lao St/
Cost - $20.00/$15.00
Amenities - Dong Loi Hotel - Our room was large
and elegantly decorated with two double beds,
large balcony overlooking the street. En suite bath
with tub and shower with hot water. It included
breakfast at the French restaurant, La Carambole
next door to the hotel. Bikes were locked inside
the hotel lobby day and night. No problem.
Slept - Thai Binh Hotel
Located - 02 Luong The Vinh Street
Behind the new Imperial Hotel on the main street,
Hung Vuong Amenities - Nice, new,
well-maintained hotel with an elevator. The room
was spotless, tastefully decorated with molding on
the ceiling and walls. Walk-on balcony, en suite
bath with hot water shower/ bath. Fridge, A/C, fan
and TV with plenty of English channels. A
generous breakfast is included in their small
restaurant. We could pick anything off the
breakfast menu.
Bikes were locked outside in the alley-way on the
side of the hotel in a secure gated area. No
problems.
Other accommodations in town - So many options.
Several fancy five star hotels, lots of nice
mid-range choices in the mid-range plenty of
guesthouses. I would recommend checking out
the room first also ask about breakfast most do
have it for free, where you can lock your bike and
whether they have free internet or WiFi.
way with a wide sealed shoulder.
Pedaling south on Hwy 1 is not as bad as we had
anticipated. Most of the traffic is scooters and
bicycles.
There were stretches when there was no vehicle
traffic, only bikes and scooters.
The persistent habit drivers have of honking and
the incessant beeping of the scooters is at times
startling and most of the time annoying.
Food and drinks all along this ride. Very built up
with stores, restaurants and homes.
The locals are always calling out to us Hello. It
took us 2 days before we learned how to say hello
in Vietnamese because none of the locals use it.
Hills - None what so ever. Yuppie!
Weather - We rode with a nice tail wind but it was
rainy, gray, wet, chilly and muddy the whole day.
The shoulder is covered in a thick slippery mud
and by the end of the ride our panniers, calves,
socks, shoes and bikes were covered in a thick
orange mud that resembled clay.
Car-Wash - We decided to power hose our packs
and bikes at the first gas station with a car wash
we found when we entered Hue. We thought it
best to have clean bikes before searching for a
hotel.
Cost $1.00 for both bikes.
Hue is a large, bustling city with a mixture of
historical and modern buildings built on both sides
of the Song Huong River (Perfume River). Hue is
known as the Imperial City because it is home to
the ancient walled citadel and the Imperial Palace.
Most of the sites are designated historical sites
and are being restored and maintained by
UNESCO.
The city has a nice layout with wide avenues,
public spaces, parks and a lovely promenade
along the river. Built along the Perfume River this
city is well equipped to handle and cater
successfully to many local and foreign tourists.
As we entered the city from the north we pedaled
past the walled city and crossed into the modern
section of town over the Trang Tien Bridge. This
bridge is only open to car traffic for very limited
hours in the day. We crossed over the river with
along side hundreds of scooters and bicycles and
made our way to the touristy area of town which is
sandwiched between D Le Loi and S Vo Thi Sau
streets on Pham Ngu Lao and Chu Van An.
The city has everything a traveler would need,
several lively central markets, well-stocked
souvenir shops, trendy restaurants with
Vietnamese and international food, plenty of
internet cafes, one good bakery, bookstores and
for those looking for some culture plenty of
historical sites to keep a traveler occupied for
several days.
In addition to the Imperial City, the surrounding
area also is famous for the Royal tombs and a few
unique pagodas.
Cycling is a great way to get around town and
about 95% of the locals either ride a bicycle or
scooter.
Best purchase yet - I bought a plastic rain poncho
for 3,000 dong (.18) and absolutely love it! All the
roadside vendors have them hanging inside tiny
zip lock bags. It weighs nothing and it covers my
entire body. I can wear it while I pedal and then
fold it up tight and slip it into my handle bar bag
when the rain stops. I can't take credit for this
amazing idea. All the locals on bikes and scooters
whip theirs out whenever it rains. Recommend.
Second best purchase - Silk Sleeping bags. Bed
bugs have caused us some sleepless nights and
we were longing for this. We found a souvenir
shop in Hue that sold them for 110,000 dong
($6.80). They're 100% silk and well made and are
very light weight.
Things to do in Hue - We took a tour of the city with
City Tours (27 Vo Thi Sau Street). Highly
recommend this company. Our guide spoke fluent
English and she kept the tour on time. The tour
visits 3 emperors tombs, Minh Mang, Khai Dinh
and Tu Duc, a conical hat and incense making
village (a brief stop for photo opportunity), the
Citadel and Imperial walled City and the Thien Mu
Pagoda.
The tour ends with a river cruise down the Perfume
River back to town. Lunch at the City Tours
restaurant in Hue was included in the price and
they offer a delicious vegetarian option. We
booked the tour through Sinh Café at 12 Hung
Voung Rd.
Price per person was $7.00.
We also visited the Ho Chi Minh Museum small,
but it does have some interesting black and white
photographs taken of the Citadel, the city and the
country during the Vietnam War.
More fun is the Dong Ba Cho (market) on the north
bank of the river just next to the Trang Tien Bridge,
on Tran Hung Dao.
This market is like a world on it's own. Vendors
are mostly women who are very entertaining and
lively. They seem to think they know exactly what
you need. It's amusing to watch them pick up the
most obscure item in their stall and hand it us. The
market does have everything a tourist could want
including a good variety of souvenirs, and
nick-knacks. We found fresh fruit and vegetables,
tofu, dried fruits, chewy nut candies and tea.
The best bakery we found in town is the Hung
Voung Bakery. The bakery is the ground floor of
the Houng Voung Inn (guesthouse) at 20 D Hung
Voung Rd. They make pastries and bake fresh
bread daily. Goodies include chocolate
croissants, banana cream cake, home-made
tropical fruit marmalade, long baguettes and much
more. The baked goods vary from day to day.
One thing we didn't expect to like is the
Vietnamese coffee. It's very strong with
condensed milk at the bottom. Once you have it
you can't control yourself to more.
The main post office in Hue was open on Sunday
as early as 7:00 a.m. There are several post office
branches in town and they all have telephone
booths to make national international calls
inexpensively.
ATM's are everywhere and most are attached to
the bigger hotels. WiFi access is available at
some hotels and restaurants too and internet cafes
are everywhere and the price is really cheap.
Slept - Hai Dang Hotel
Location - 43D Hung Vuong Rd
Cost - $12.00
Amenities - Nicely decorated, small room with two
beds, armoire, table and two chairs. A/C, fan, en
suite bath with hot water. Fridge, TV with 1 English
Channel. The price includes breakfast of coffee or
tea, bread and fruit served in the hotel lobby.
Note - We moved out of the Hai Dang Hotel after
one night. The receptionist told us it was okay to
lock the bikes overnight in a back room inside the
hotel but when we carried them inside in the
evening the Manager gave us a hard time. So we
decided to move to another hotel since there are
so many to choose from.
Slept -Dong Loi Hotel
Located -19 Pham Ngu Lao St/
Cost - $20.00/$15.00
Amenities - Dong Loi Hotel - Our room was large
and elegantly decorated with two double beds,
large balcony overlooking the street. En suite bath
with tub and shower with hot water. It included
breakfast at the French restaurant, La Carambole
next door to the hotel. Bikes were locked inside
the hotel lobby day and night. No problem.
Slept - Thai Binh Hotel
Located - 02 Luong The Vinh Street
Behind the new Imperial Hotel on the main street,
Hung Vuong Amenities - Nice, new,
well-maintained hotel with an elevator. The room
was spotless, tastefully decorated with molding on
the ceiling and walls. Walk-on balcony, en suite
bath with hot water shower/ bath. Fridge, A/C, fan
and TV with plenty of English channels. A
generous breakfast is included in their small
restaurant. We could pick anything off the
breakfast menu.
Bikes were locked outside in the alley-way on the
side of the hotel in a secure gated area. No
problems.
Other accommodations in town - So many options.
Several fancy five star hotels, lots of nice
mid-range choices in the mid-range plenty of
guesthouses. I would recommend checking out
the room first also ask about breakfast most do
have it for free, where you can lock your bike and
whether they have free internet or WiFi.