Berry's SEAJ trip Day 7: The motorbike adventure to Hue (6/12/15)

Woke up and decided to go for the hotel's breakfast (3$)  as they had mango sliced up as well as other things; the selling point for me was clearly the mango slices and I easily got my money's worth with just those let alone the rest of what I ate. So my bike gets there and my understanding of how this day was going was all wrong; not only am I not just riding on the back of someone's bike (easy rider), nor is the guy driving along with me (Safety in numbers), but the group that the front desk said was leaving at this time (and the reason I pushed back my departure an hour – to have those numbers) were no where to be found. So I was going to be making this journey by myself.

My "motorbike" for today's jaunt. Berry is excited to get on the open road.

I get lost instantly as the guy gave me erroneous directions (or at least my understanding of them was wrong) so I double back and stop at a hotel and ask them how to get where I am going and it turns out I was going the right way, I just didn't go far enough to see the turn :(. So I head back out and realize I should have packed a long sleeve shirt as my only options right now are to either get massively sunburned or wear my rain jacket that doesn't breathe too well; I wore the jacket. So as I ride along my bike runs out of gas; the guy neglected to tell me that the the bike doesn't come full like what I am used to in renting vehicles in USA. So I stop and go into a nearby food place where one of the patrons speaks decent English and I explain what happened and he arranges for someone to bring me 2 liters of petrol for 50kD which is maybe 5-8kD more than at the station but its well worth no having to push my bike the 3 km to the petrol station. So I sit and have a juice and relax as I sit and wait for this guy to come and save me. He gets me the petrol and I am back on the road. Side note - the bike people all lie, they say they start you with a liter of petrol, and that is not even close. They maybe start you with ¼ of a liter (that's being generous) as the 2 liters I put in the tank took the gauge to a little above half way. - note over.

Not too far down the road ran out of gas as I was not aware of the giving it empty thing. Berry is sad as this is a bad sign for the day's activities. The kind people at the little restaurant in the background are the ones that helped me.

I saw these in HCMC. They are trashcans that look like animals. Of course I found me a penguin one and took me some pictures. This was at the marble mountain outside of Danang.

I nearly miss the turn off for the marble mountain but turn there and park at a place that fanned me in – they do this in hopes of guilting you to buy something from their shop after. I go into the park and start climbing up the stairs into the mountain and up to a peak/lookout and realized I am wetter than if I were to jump in a pool. With the amount of sweating and exertion I realize I probably need something more than the water I am drinking, so I stop and get one of the 7up electrolyte drinks. With the long day ahead of me, I decide to leave the mountain after only seeing a few caves and get back on the road. The mountain is very pretty with lots of alcoves with Buddha statues and what not every so often. I feel one could spend a day there and thoroughly enjoy the whole day. I do not have a day so I head out. Chill with the ladies who let me park my bike there and bought something from the drink lady (I told them I would when I first parks) and they were nice but the lady who owned the shop of marble statues was upset cause she kept telling me to buy something and I kept saying no. I didn't need a marble statue in my bag for this trip. So I get back on my scooter and head through Danang.

It is warm out today. We walk up the steep steps and get to look upon this beautiful statue. If I was smarted I would have had Berry carry me up those stairs instead of carrying him. 

Temple at the first landing of the marble mountain.

Climbed up to one of the peaks to take in the view of the surrounding community. Lots of sand.

Cool gate with a view of the city back behind it.

Beautiful flowers in the shrines. 

Berry getting his Buddhist meditation on in a temple.

I think ancient asian architecture might be one of my favorites. Probably due to its rarity in/contrast with western culture architecture.

Building some temples into the caves.

This shrine has some guards to keep hooligans at bay. 

Sequestered Buddha. Gotta get through this rocky pass to get to him. Very cool having these statues and figures carved out of the rock there.

View looking out from the cave. Just natural beauty all around.

Is this the Buddhist equivalent to the christian's nativity scene? A bunch of marble followers meditating with Buddha.

Awesome Pagoda on the mountain. Was not allowed in. :(

Berry just had to go spelunking. :)

Little panorama looking down at Hoi An from another overlook.

Had to stop quickly on the beaches of Danang. They are a popular travel destination and I can see why. Beautiful beach weather with immaculate beaches. Berry is giving it 2 thumbs up. 

I missed my turn so double back and get on it, but then there are no street signs indicating if I am on the right path. So after a bit of driving, I stop and ask a guy leaving an electronics store if this is the way to Hue (that rhymes); he could have just said yes as I was, but he didn't know how to explain what he was trying to explain so he tells me to follow him and I do. We weave through traffic and eventually we stop at a road side sugar cane juice place and sit and talk and order some cane juice cause I was planning on treating him since he helped me; he bought me the drink. He was an engineering student there in Danang; good guy and fun to talk to. As I keep driving I eventually get into the switchbacks that lead up through the pass providing multiple amazing views of Danang and the coast. Get to the pinnacle of the pass where there are some old war turrets and some food places. I stop at one and just get some instant ramen (hot water added to a plastic tub) and the lady charges me 50kD. Freaking highway robbery right there but it was on me as I didn't ask the price before agreeing.

Getting closer to the Pass. This was shortly after getting some help from a local on navigating the city and having a drink with the student. Was a great interaction. Love seeing those mountains! Berry loved seeing his first (of many) mountains.

No idea what it say, but Berry liked it so we stopped and took a picture as we ascended the pass.

BEAUTIFUL! So many gorgeous sites on this trip. I have a feeling Berry will be making me stop quite a bit.

This was supposed to be a scenic picture but Berry just had to be in it. 

Panorama going up the pass.

Danang looks so small from over here. Still beautiful.

Stopped for some grub (got gypped - lesson learned going to the non-popular place) on the pass. Turns out, it was a big wartime outpost (makes sense). There are still war buildings standing up there you can look around. Berry is ready to explore.

Berry checking out a turret. 

View of the other side. Equally pretty.

One of the old buildings. Berry kept asking about the history of these buildings. Such a curious lil guy.

I had another companion join me on this trip. Some Buffalo Bayou Brewery's 1836. Why not enjoy a beer with this amazing sight?

So I gave her the money and then explored the turrets before heading down the other side of the pass. As I am coming down through the pass, I almost get creamed by a tour bus because in SEA, the bigger the vehicle the more right of way you have (cause that makes sense) so these giant tour buses will pass coming around blind corners and expect you to not be there. I joke not, this death bus came within 6 inches of me. I was not happy to say the least that this is all the norm in Vietnam (why try and protect people on vehicles that have no protection?) and really SEA but this was where it affected me and many people I saw; I saw more people in bandages in Vietnam than the rest of my trip.

As I come down the other side of the pass, not a bad view.

Berry enjoying the beautiful view at the bottom of the pass road. 

This was a giant cemetery in front of beautiful mountain scenery. Berry just enjoying the ride with a view.

Berry poking his head in my panorama picture. Small village off in the distance embedded in the forest of the mountains. 

Church of the village masked by the trees. 

More of the mountains towering over the lands below. They were doing road construction on this road which caused problems later on.

Berry getting upclose with the camera as I try and capture the amazing view. Note the person on the bicycle. They share the road with scooters and cars/trucks. You think this is scary in the USA, see how the truck drivers are here.

I continue on my way, pulling over to take pictures every so often. One time after pulling over, I get back on the road and something is wrong. I have a flat tire; the bike tire has a finishing nail in it. A local motorcycle guy stops and helps me talk to the shop where I push my bike. It costs 100kD to replace the tube and when I call the company they say its my responsibility. Yet another frustration with this company and the experience today as in their discussion at the beginning they say if you stay on the path, if something goes wrong, they cover it. Apparently you cover the wheels and they are only talking about the engine. So they replace it and I get on the road. As I am driving, I realize the sun is setting and I don't have clear glasses for night time driving. I make due and eventually get into Hue and figure out where the bike place is after missing it and drop the bike off.

Due to road being under construction, I got a nail in my tire and had to get it repaired. Local guy on motorcycle stopped and helped me get to a repair shop where I had to pay to get this scooter repaired. Annoying but as is life. Berry tries to see how it is done; aspiring auto mechanic he is.

Berry and I checking out the view of the lot next to the auto shop. Since there are stairs I went to go check out what was up there.

There was a makeshift soccer field up there in the field with kids playing on it. Love it! Not a bad view to be playing a game around.

Its getting late but Berry still wants some pictures of the ever changing landscape on the ride. 

Farmers working the field with their animals grazing.

Fish boats galore. This was the last picture I took as I realized it was getting late, and the only eye wear I had were sunglasses which made the night driving hard. 

I get my bag from them and the lady behind the desk gives me a ride to the hostel I am staying at (Backpackers hostel Hue). I check in and go get some food and a beer before I head up to shower as I am filthy from the day. I then go down to the lobby area to hang out and have a beer and chat with some people before heading to bed. Glad this long day from hell is over.