Hội An and Huế 2013

Straight from Hạ Long Bay, via a lunch stop and Hà Nội’s Noi Bai Domestic Airport to Da Nang, on to a latish arrival in Hội An (sorry not enough photos) for a few days before heading off again, over Đèo Hải Vân (Hải Vân Pass) and into Huế. Đèo

Hải Vân, aka Ocean Cloud Pass, has historically been a major strategic point; it marked the boundary between the kingdoms of Champa and Đại Việt; and it’s estimated that it was the earlier southern most point of the Chinese Han Empire in 1 CE.

After the imposed partition at the 17th parallel in 1954, it was roughly 90 km south of the porous border. It continued to be fortified due to its strategic importance as a pinch point where the main north south road and railway come within a hundred or so metres of each other in the pass. During the Second East Asian War (also variously known as the Vietnam War or the American War) it was subject to heavy fighting as the pock marked fortifications still testify.

Once down on the coast we made another brief stop at View Point Lăng Cô before continuing into Huế and a hectic afternoon's schedule to the Imperial Citadel, Chùa Thiên Mụ (Thiên Mụ Pagoda) and a boat trip down the Sông Huong (Perfume River). I have written about both in other pages, see Huế Imperial City 2018 , Kinh thành, Huế 2019 and Thiên Mụ Pagoda 2018.

We returned to Da Nang via a scenic point on Vụng An Cư, an estuary just over an hour south of Huế, then through the 6.9 km tunnel completed in 2005 between Huế and Da Nang (much shorter but less scenic) and onto the airport for our flight to Hồ Chí Minh City, where we were due add more people to the tour before our 7 day cruise to Siem Reap, Cambodia.