Day nine, still fine.

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My hotel is located right in the middle of where the action was almost fifty-eight years ago (near the gray square).

My first impressions of Hue are generally positive. I’m still in the tourist zone, but it’s not as oppressive as the one I experienced in Hoi An. Getting here took almost four hours, including a twisty-turny drive over a mountain. Saw plenty of nice scenery along the way, so no real complaints in that regard. Found some nice bars and restaurants in the backstreets near our hotel last night, and the exploration of which has just begun! One nice thing they do is close those roads to vehicle traffic after 6 p.m., allowing safer stumbling walking about.

Here are some photos of the getting here and our first evening out:

That mountain between Da Nang and Hue we had to cross.
The Hai Van Gate is at the summit.
You can read more about it at the link above.
One of the fortifications.
The ocean view on a hazy day.
Who needs a shitty map?
Coming down the mountain.
An interesting-looking village we passed along the way.
When you gotta go, you gotta go.
Finally made it to our hotel in Hue.
The view from our room.
The DMZ, a restaurant/bar, is conveniently located right across the road from our hotel.
I chuckled over this name and thought of It Doesn’t Matter back home.
No thanks, I read the book.
Looks like my kind of place.
Nice ambiance upstairs at Browneyes.
My blue-eyed view from Browneyes.
At the dinner hour, we moved to the HotTuna and enjoyed the street view as an appetizer. I asked our waitress if they served cold tuna, but the language barrier aborted my attempt at humor.
Some of the local food offerings at HotTuna.
We had something called calamari…
…and grilled pork ribs. Talk about stepping outside the comfort zone!
An after-dinner nightcap at DMZ.
And then we climbed the stairway to heaven and called it a night.

A good day so far, despite getting lost on our hike this morning. Two more nights to go here.

And in news from home:

As I suspected, John’s place in Barretto is closing. The new location is going to be in Olongapo City, way out of my reach. It was good while it lasted. Thanks for the memories.

Back to the September 2016 LTG archives for part 3 of the bringing sand to the beach adventure.

Today’s YouTube video features combat footage from the Tet Offensive back in 1968—some of the heaviest US casualties of the war in that battle. I can’t help but think about all those who died here while I’m living the high life on the streets where blood was spilled. You can read the gory details here if you are so inclined.

And now for today’s lame attempts at humor:

Did you get a spanking?
Well, I’m an old man with bladder control issues.
Yeah, ever been to Switzeland?

Okay, time to get on with my day here.

6 thoughts on “Day nine, still fine.”

  2. The area you’re in seems quite nice. That menu’s “local food” page looked appetizing. I’d have ordered one of everything.

    The stairs up to Hai Van Gate would make me stop for breath several times, I’m sure.

  3. Kevin, I’m sure you would enjoy the local delicacies, even if I’m too set in my ways to indulge them.

    The steps up to the Hai Van Gate were not as difficult as they appeared; you’d do fine getting up there.

  5. What’s Day 10 gonna be, mate?

    “Day 10 – Kissing all the hot Hue men”…?

    Looks like a great trip anyhow….glad to see you staying out of trouble!!

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