VIETNAM - Hue - Part 1

I was up bright and early for my big journey to ride a motor bike to Hué! People call this the Top Gear challenge and lots do it. I was very excited but first I ran to the clothing market in Hoi An and said goodbye to Bich. I was going to miss her and her family but I knew I had to explore more of Vietnam. Afterwards I climbed on my bike but before I could set off I was stopped by a young man asking to join me on biking to Hué. I said sure he could follow me and we could navigate together. So we set off and our first stop was near Marble Mountain which were really pretty but we didn’t stop to hike around them. Afterwards we drove the highway that ran parallel to the beach and it was gorgeous. Great day to bike! We started to approach a huge Buddha statue that was watching over the entire city on top of a hill. It was HUGE! After we passed it we traversed the arm of land that petruded out into the sea. Great views all around, but then we realized we had gone to far and had to turn around, but if we didn’t get lost we would have missed the best part! Sometimes getting lost is better... Next thing we approached was the famous Hai Van Pass. This was a huge mountain that has a highway going over it. There is a short film called “Top Gear” and it’s based on 3 British goofballs Rodin motor bikes down the whole country and they said this was the best pass of the entire trip. As soon as we started to climb my bike was struggling but it made it up! And once we got higher the dog had swallowed the mountain. Next thing I knew I was at the top and couldn’t see 20 ft in front of me. At this point I lost my bike buddy behind me but I figured I would see him again at the bottom, so I continued. Dodging big semi trucks that we coming up the mountain and trying to pass other cars. Reminded me a lot of Guatemala... but not as bad. Nothing is as horrifying as Guatemala... the road down was really cool because I was passing over little bridges that crossed over little streams and waterfalls. Very pretty. Finally I got to the bottom and stopped to wait for my buddy. He came 15 minutes later. I was surprised I went so fast. Well I couldn’t blame myself because my speedometer didn’t work. So I didn’t know how fast I was going. Ahead was a big bridge that was beautiful! Very big and wide. We decided to stop for a little lunch but could not find anywhere to eat. Then we stopped at a small stand on the highway and this sweet lady with her toddler made us little banana leaf wrapped shrimp jelly things... that is about the best description I could giver. I didn’t feel like taking the risk but my buddy had a few just to lay him to Hue. On the road again and then it started raining hard the last hour. On the highway while it’s raining makes the rain feel like needles on your face. Trying every possible way to cover my face and stay dry failed after the first 10 minutes. All I had to do was push through. The last 15 minutes were driving through the city which I have never done and wanted to avoid it actually. But next thing I know I was part of a huge motorbike mass at a huge city intersection. I was thinking back at my first days back in Ho Chi Minh City when I was telling myself I would never ride a bike here and especially not in a city. Next thing I know I honking and wiggling my way through traffic just like the locals. It’s funny how your morals can change and adapt. And to be honest I’m glad I took this adventure. We found the bike return building and we arrived around 4. But our bags wouldn’t arrive till 7 that night. So my buddy and I decided to get some coffee and tea to warm ourselves up. We were shaking to the bone from being cold and wet. And we couldn’t change! We didn’t have our clothes!!!! I was miserable. But we walked to our hoste only a few blocks away and checked in. When we got there, at the door we were handed free beer. Thank god. I must admit a nice cold beer after a long bike ride feels like heaven. I just wanted to melt away. After we grabbed some dinner across the street and then by then our luggage was ready to get. We got our bags and cake back to shower. I was so beat from riding today and my plan was to just go to bed early... but oh no... I went down to enjoy one more beer but I got dragged into a game of Pub Quiz. This just consisted of different teams trying to get the right answers to trivia questions. And I guess I was the smartest one on my team because they chose me always to go up and answer the double challenge and surprisingly I always won! To be honest I might have been the smartest in the hostel... considering it was a “party” hostel. Next thing I know I’m on my 4th drink and or team wins so we get free flavor infused shots, which were really good actually. Local made it vietnam. The next task was to be blindfolded and act out a story that the hotel host was saying out loud. I lost within the first minute but it was fun to watch all the other drunk people try and act out these ubsurd scenes. One guy got down to his underwear!  After that I remember walking to a club down the street and dancing my ass off with a nice British couple, my biking buddy, and a young girl from the US. I danced for so long and even took my shoes off. It was a 5 story club and I was on the top floor all to myself dancing. Afterwards I wanted to go home but before I could put my last shoe one my biking buddy took it and threw it from the top floor to the bottom dance floor. I wasn’t mad but I went down to look for it and could not find it. So I ended walking home with one less shoe. I got back to my bed around 4 in the morning and woke up naturally really early. Not feeling my best...