We sought out pho for breakfast before leaving Hue, and then I continued on my hunt to locate an iced milk coffee to replicate the one I had during our first week. No luck yet. And alas, there were perhaps too many onions used to make the soup broth, or maybe something else upset my stomach but whatever the case, I was feeling distinctly barfy by the time we did a drive by of the Thien Mu Pagoda and got to the outskirts of Hue.
Adam graciously offered to swap his open-face helmet with my closed-face model just in case... but after a bit of a breather and a water break, I began to perk up. And just in time as we were set to ride the Hai Van Pass (of Top Gear notoriety) when I would need all of my wits about me.
Adam plotted a wonderful route away from Hue, through quiet country lanes but as we approached the pass, we joined the busy single highway that would take us to its lower flanks. We had to pass through a couple of short tunnels alongside heavy trucks and coaches, and never have I been so glad for all of the horsepower that the XR150 will produce. We were able to keep up with traffic better than many of the scooters on the road, though it was at this point that my big bulky helmet was returned to me, providing a much appreciated sense of security.
Most of the heavy trucks are diverted along a straighter toll route now, but the Hai Van pass road is still flocked by large tour coaches and trucks that wish to escape the toll charges. I'm delighted to have had experience riding through the European Alps to fall back on because while the Hai Van pass is not as twisty nor as high, it is much busier. Three young Asian men came off their scooters just ahead of us, upon encountering a herd of goats on the road. One of them braked too hard, dumping two of them into the road before the other drove into them. Adam was able to stop and confirm they were not seriously injured, while I sought a safe course out of the melée of goats and off the road until Adam could catch up.
The high peak was lightly shrouded in cloud so we did not linger but continued down into the heart of Da Nang. This port city is awash with hotels, with more being raised along the beach to the south each day. I grew about as impatient as I have ever been in traffic yesterday afternoon - tired of the incessant honking of taxis and shuttle buses who feel they own the road and resent a motorcycle taking up anywhere near a safe blocking position in the adjacent lane. Adam dealt with all of this much better in his usual implacability and delivered us safely through the heart of Hoi An to our hotel on neighbouring Cam Nam island.
The island is accessible by a single bridge and then narrow lanes, barely a single car width in size. We threaded our way through this maze, slowed up at one point by turning into the alley in front of a public school at final bell. But with bikes being so common no one seemed the least perturbed as we inched our way through a sea of kids and their parents with their own scooters. Our guest house is on the far end of the island in a quiet neighborhood, where we are disturbed only by the requisite roosters.
We walked back toward the centre of Hoi An last night and ran into a friendly Scotsman named Alan who, freshly arrived from Malaysia, had heard something about a shuttle into the heart of Hoi An from the island but finding nothing of the kind on the dim streets seemed delighted in discovering a pair of English speakers whom he could regale with his tales of life in Northern Ireland in the bad old days. He joined us for dinner and more than a few beers then cajoled by the ever energetic Adam, walked back with us towards our hotels.
Adam and I borrowed a couple of rickety bicycles from the guesthouse this morning to poke about Hoi An. We got our flight from Saigon to Hanoi booked, reminding us that this adventure comes to an end in a couple of weeks. I kept my shopping urges in check as we pedalled by countless dress and leather goods shops. Travelling by motorcycle imposes some limitations and space is certainly one of them so there will be no additions to my luggage until the bikes are returned.
We enjoyed our first street food experience today, ordering banh mi sandwiches from one of the roadside carts. It was dripping with several sauces and entirely delicious. We followed this up with a quiet stroll around the island before repairing to the guest house to enjoy the strains of the neighbours practicing their (distinctly off-key) karaoke favourites at full volume. This at least drowns out the public address speakers as they begin their exhortations to toil and moral life.