| Day 4 Danang to Hoi An, Vietnam Kilometers - 31 Miles - 19 |
| Cycle Touring Routes > Vietnam > Dong Ha to Nha Trang > Map > Day |
Ride/Road - We avoided Hwy 1 and took the
coastal road out of Danang thinking it was going to
be less congested. It was quite the opposite. The
two-lane road has no shoulder and the traffic was
more hectic and busy than Hwy 1.
We passed the Marble Mountains and marble
carving shops along the way.
The entire way is populated with town after town.
We found gas stations all along for our bathroom
breaks and plenty of places selling food and water.
Weather - A little drizzle started on the way out of
Danang. Then the sun came out and it stayed
sunny and warm the entire day. A bit of a
headwind hit us on this ride.
Hoi An is a medium size town. The north end of
town from where we entered is modern and very
built up. As got closer to the river the town took on
a more rustic feel. The traffic was a bit chaotic
with some streets unpaved, full of pot-holes, dirt or
gravel.
The historical area of town is a UNESCO World
Heritage site that stays true to the authenticity in
architecture, culture and preservation of the homes
and buildings in the area. The site runs along the
Thu Bon River along two streets that run parallel
with the river road, Bach Dang. Most sites of
historical interest are on Bach Dang, Thai Hoc and
Tran Phu streets. This area saturated with well
preserved historical homes, souvenir shops,
exquisite Wats and pagodas and restaurants. The
tile roofs and the wooden frames is a style of
architecture used hundreds of years ago. Inside
many of these historical beauties is everything a
tourist could want. Great restaurants, shops,
internet (free at most hotels), tailors, historical
buildings, beautiful river views. Lively,
well-stocked local market with fruit, vegetables,
thick noodles, tofu, food stalls and everything else
in the world.
One aspect of Hue that remains a mystery is the
congregation of tailors in the town. Streets are
packed with tailor shops claiming the capability to
whip up a wedding gown or a three-piece suit in 1
hour for a pittance. The tailor business is so big
here that a huge indoor market in the center of the
tourist area is covered wall to wall with tailors.
Shear competition makes the price of having
anything made a fraction of what it would cost
anywhere else.
Buyer beware! The quality and expertise of each
tailors' work varies significantly. Some tailors may
tell a fib to enhance their skills and others use
cheap fabrics to keep their cost down.
Other Cyclist - We met a French Canadian couple,
Josie and Robert at the Cargo Club restaurant in
town, filling up on some good old carbs. The
couple is cycling our way, south toward Ho Chi
Minh on Hwy 1. Robert proudly showed us his
ankle tattoo verifying that he is an authentic
Ironman competitor who has participated in
several worldwide events.
Found a nice running path that runs along the river
past rice paddies, farms and homes. No car traffic
except for farming tractors, scooters and bikes.
Hue served us well as an easy place to extend our
Vietnam visa. We only received 20 days when we
entered the country at Lao Boa so we decided to
extend our visa for another 30 days. The tour
agency we visited charged us $25.00 per visa. It
took a total of 24 hours to get the visa back and we
got 30-day extension
We found several restaurants on the waterfront
with vegetarian options. Not on the waterfront but
a good vegetarian choice is the Green Moss
Restaurant, located on 341 Nguyen Duy Hieu. It's
a tastefully decorated place with outdoor seating
and an extensive vegetarian menu at great prices.
The best pastries hands-down are at The Cargo
Club. This isn't a secret place. It seems that every
tourist in Hoi An eats here and for good reason.
The Cargo Club has the most amazing bread and
pastries - Soya bread, hearty multi-grain, long
baguettes and so on. All their bread is baked on
property and is steaming hot. The pastries are
delicious too. It's impossible to mention then all
but the one sticks in my mind the most is the Reine
de Sabala. It's a chocolate cake, thick and chewy
like a brownie, covered in dark chocolate. I'm
drooling as I write this. Highly recommend visiting
this place.
Slept - Ha An Hotel
Location - 06-08 Phan Boi Chau. In the center of
town about 1/2 block from the market and the
historical area. Very central. Walking distance to
all major sights.
Cost - $28.00 including breakfast buffet, free
internet, free WI/FI
Amenities - The most elegant hotel we have
stayed in Vietnam. High quality fixtures, furniture
and standards. The hotel is an elegant colonial
style building set back from the road with a lush
garden and restaurant. When we pedaled our
bikes into the garden all sweaty and dusty the
hostess greeted us with a cool towel and a tray
with iced lemonade a basket of Hoi An's traditional
cookies and peanut brittle. We munched on our
treats lounging in the hammocks while we waited
for our room to be prepared.
Our room had flower petals on the sheets, floor,
towels and tub. Fresh flowers decorated every
surface, tub and sink. Double doors open up to a
communal patio with a table and chairs. The staff
attentive, efficient and speak fluent English.
Room has TV with multiple English channels, a
DVD player with a case full of DVD movie
selection, free WiFi, free coffee/tea in room,
complementary fruit basket, mini-bar, fan/ac, en
suite bath/shower, tub, hot shower. Two twin beds.
Other accommodations in Town - Hoi An is
packed with accommodations. We did the rounds
and visited about 10 hotels in several areas of
town. The Ha An Hotel is by far the most elegant
hotel we visited in the mid-range price range.
There are countless hotels in Hoi An. Something
for every price range and taste. Most hotels
include free breakfast, free internet, free bikes and
many have large swimming pools.
Hoi An, Vietnam
Side Trip - My Son Ruins
Took the day to visit the Cham Archeological ruins
of My Son on a tour. The temples are in a beautiful
area surrounded by mountains in a lush tropical
jungle. The Cham temples are a UNESCO site
and restoration continues to rebuild the site after
most temples were bombed during the Vietnam
War.
The temples that remained in tack are spectacular
and worth a visit.
The site consists of a small cluster of buildings that
can be visited in about one hour. The tour included
visiting the ruins and a river cruise on the Thu Bon
River with a light lunch and a stop at a
woodcarving village.
The ruins can also be visited by bicycle. My Son is
about 45 kilometers (27 miles) from Hoi An.
coastal road out of Danang thinking it was going to
be less congested. It was quite the opposite. The
two-lane road has no shoulder and the traffic was
more hectic and busy than Hwy 1.
We passed the Marble Mountains and marble
carving shops along the way.
The entire way is populated with town after town.
We found gas stations all along for our bathroom
breaks and plenty of places selling food and water.
Weather - A little drizzle started on the way out of
Danang. Then the sun came out and it stayed
sunny and warm the entire day. A bit of a
headwind hit us on this ride.
Hoi An is a medium size town. The north end of
town from where we entered is modern and very
built up. As got closer to the river the town took on
a more rustic feel. The traffic was a bit chaotic
with some streets unpaved, full of pot-holes, dirt or
gravel.
The historical area of town is a UNESCO World
Heritage site that stays true to the authenticity in
architecture, culture and preservation of the homes
and buildings in the area. The site runs along the
Thu Bon River along two streets that run parallel
with the river road, Bach Dang. Most sites of
historical interest are on Bach Dang, Thai Hoc and
Tran Phu streets. This area saturated with well
preserved historical homes, souvenir shops,
exquisite Wats and pagodas and restaurants. The
tile roofs and the wooden frames is a style of
architecture used hundreds of years ago. Inside
many of these historical beauties is everything a
tourist could want. Great restaurants, shops,
internet (free at most hotels), tailors, historical
buildings, beautiful river views. Lively,
well-stocked local market with fruit, vegetables,
thick noodles, tofu, food stalls and everything else
in the world.
One aspect of Hue that remains a mystery is the
congregation of tailors in the town. Streets are
packed with tailor shops claiming the capability to
whip up a wedding gown or a three-piece suit in 1
hour for a pittance. The tailor business is so big
here that a huge indoor market in the center of the
tourist area is covered wall to wall with tailors.
Shear competition makes the price of having
anything made a fraction of what it would cost
anywhere else.
Buyer beware! The quality and expertise of each
tailors' work varies significantly. Some tailors may
tell a fib to enhance their skills and others use
cheap fabrics to keep their cost down.
Other Cyclist - We met a French Canadian couple,
Josie and Robert at the Cargo Club restaurant in
town, filling up on some good old carbs. The
couple is cycling our way, south toward Ho Chi
Minh on Hwy 1. Robert proudly showed us his
ankle tattoo verifying that he is an authentic
Ironman competitor who has participated in
several worldwide events.
Found a nice running path that runs along the river
past rice paddies, farms and homes. No car traffic
except for farming tractors, scooters and bikes.
Hue served us well as an easy place to extend our
Vietnam visa. We only received 20 days when we
entered the country at Lao Boa so we decided to
extend our visa for another 30 days. The tour
agency we visited charged us $25.00 per visa. It
took a total of 24 hours to get the visa back and we
got 30-day extension
We found several restaurants on the waterfront
with vegetarian options. Not on the waterfront but
a good vegetarian choice is the Green Moss
Restaurant, located on 341 Nguyen Duy Hieu. It's
a tastefully decorated place with outdoor seating
and an extensive vegetarian menu at great prices.
The best pastries hands-down are at The Cargo
Club. This isn't a secret place. It seems that every
tourist in Hoi An eats here and for good reason.
The Cargo Club has the most amazing bread and
pastries - Soya bread, hearty multi-grain, long
baguettes and so on. All their bread is baked on
property and is steaming hot. The pastries are
delicious too. It's impossible to mention then all
but the one sticks in my mind the most is the Reine
de Sabala. It's a chocolate cake, thick and chewy
like a brownie, covered in dark chocolate. I'm
drooling as I write this. Highly recommend visiting
this place.
Slept - Ha An Hotel
Location - 06-08 Phan Boi Chau. In the center of
town about 1/2 block from the market and the
historical area. Very central. Walking distance to
all major sights.
Cost - $28.00 including breakfast buffet, free
internet, free WI/FI
Amenities - The most elegant hotel we have
stayed in Vietnam. High quality fixtures, furniture
and standards. The hotel is an elegant colonial
style building set back from the road with a lush
garden and restaurant. When we pedaled our
bikes into the garden all sweaty and dusty the
hostess greeted us with a cool towel and a tray
with iced lemonade a basket of Hoi An's traditional
cookies and peanut brittle. We munched on our
treats lounging in the hammocks while we waited
for our room to be prepared.
Our room had flower petals on the sheets, floor,
towels and tub. Fresh flowers decorated every
surface, tub and sink. Double doors open up to a
communal patio with a table and chairs. The staff
attentive, efficient and speak fluent English.
Room has TV with multiple English channels, a
DVD player with a case full of DVD movie
selection, free WiFi, free coffee/tea in room,
complementary fruit basket, mini-bar, fan/ac, en
suite bath/shower, tub, hot shower. Two twin beds.
Other accommodations in Town - Hoi An is
packed with accommodations. We did the rounds
and visited about 10 hotels in several areas of
town. The Ha An Hotel is by far the most elegant
hotel we visited in the mid-range price range.
There are countless hotels in Hoi An. Something
for every price range and taste. Most hotels
include free breakfast, free internet, free bikes and
many have large swimming pools.
Hoi An, Vietnam
Side Trip - My Son Ruins
Took the day to visit the Cham Archeological ruins
of My Son on a tour. The temples are in a beautiful
area surrounded by mountains in a lush tropical
jungle. The Cham temples are a UNESCO site
and restoration continues to rebuild the site after
most temples were bombed during the Vietnam
War.
The temples that remained in tack are spectacular
and worth a visit.
The site consists of a small cluster of buildings that
can be visited in about one hour. The tour included
visiting the ruins and a river cruise on the Thu Bon
River with a light lunch and a stop at a
woodcarving village.
The ruins can also be visited by bicycle. My Son is
about 45 kilometers (27 miles) from Hoi An.