Ho Thuy Tien Abandoned Water Park in Hué, Vietnam.
Before heading to Hué, where we would start part of the Hai Van Pass (made famous by Top Gear when they did it from Hoi An to Hanoi), we stopped off at a few smaller, less popular places. The first being Phong Nha, famous for it's caves and the Botanic Garden, which isn't a garden but more like a massive forest?! We actually visited it on a day that was honestly just miserable! However, we mentally prepared ourselves, got our rain gear on and were determined to do something. We arrived and really did not know if it was just plain idiotic going out in the rain. However, after a pep talk in a very sad little cafe, buying the only ponchos they had and probably the strongest Vietnamese coffee i'd ever consumed; we finally ventured out into the woods. Let's just say, not much was dry once we had trekked around for an hour! We found a huge waterfall and one of the trio, madly, jumped in with no clothes on! Never a dull moment with that lot… very entertaining for me though!
Phong Nha Botanic Garden, Vietnam
That evening we were cooked for by the homestay we were in; an array of traditional Vietnamese food catered around me and one of the trio not eating meat. This was so generous of them and we did not hold back! We ate every last piece of food on that table whilst little Milo and Kiki ran around our feet, which were 2 adorable little puppies. We chatted to the few other guests at the homestay, drinking rice wine, wrapped up in what little jumpers we had between us all.
I must explain rice wine! Well, rice wine is something I would never have had by choice, but 2 of the trio do know how to get you to drink sometimes! They call it 'happy water' here, and whether it's a placebo or not, it definitely made me have a few happy nights!!! It tastes slightly like watered down tequila, which I hate, but when it's free and a bit chilly of an evening, there was no way I was turning it down! Plus, it doesn't tend to give you a hangover... which is always a bonus.
The infamous 'happy water,' aka rice wine...
Next stop... Đồng Hới. Being in Vietnam through the low season definitely had its advantages and disadvantages. One disadvantage was sometimes the weather, for Đồng Hới especially, as it made it somewhat difficult to really experience the area for what it was known for. It had lovely beaches and the bonus of being exceptionally quiet, however, we couldn't quite appreciate it because it just wasn't the right season. Instead, we rented the most beaten up bicycles for about £2 and just laughed our way around the town, acting like we were 15 again; doing jumps, hunting for western food and settling down in a bar with a few Huda beers.
That evening, back at Buffalo Hostel where the drinks were extremely cheap, myself and one of the trio chatted until we realised we were locked in and the security guard was asleep! I really feel a true friendship has formed with us that I hope will continue throughout life.
Not much genuinely happened in that region of Vietnam (between Ninh Bình and Hué) and I like to call it the 'in-between'. We spent our few days in Đồng Hới eating at Tree Hugger cafe https://www.treehuggervietnam.com/, cycling, drinking the ridiculously cheap booze and singing really bad karaoke! It was a good break from doing a lot, as sometimes you put a lot of pressure on each day being fun-packed and full of activities.
Low clouds over faraway mountains in Đồng Hới, Vietnam
Lesson number nine: You need those less perfect down days in order to really appreciate the exciting ones.
Hué was our next port of call and we decided to stay in a hotel, as we could get a family room for the same price as a hostel. This was nice as we had our own bathroom, although, I have never known people to spend so much time in the shower...?!
Well, first of all I have to mention the little Italian opposite our hotel, Risotto Restaurant - http://www.risottorestauranthue.com/. The olives, oh my the olives. That was where I truly fell in love with fresh black olives! We ordered nearly £2 worth, which was around 2 bowls and they were just delicious; we devoured them!
On day two there, we went to an abandoned water park around a 20min ped outside of the city. Apparently you're not supposed to enter, however, if you bribe the security guard with 10.000 dong (50p ish) you miraculously get to go in? Despite what the title to this post says, it was really fun; just not in the same way that an amusement park is supposed to make you have fun. It was the most surreal and eerie place. You walk around a ghostly, yet slightly serene, park with occasional moments of what would have been a past excitement, but now it's just photographic evidence of something that used to exist.
Eerie shot from Thuy Tien lake Abandoned Water Park in Hué, Vietnam.
The first thing you witness is the dragon that centres the park, which used to be an aquarium (above) and stands somewhat proudly overlooking the lake. The colours fading day-by-day and hornet-filled insides attempting to ward away tourists; determined to be left alone.
Continue North from the centrepiece, via some random cows, a very sad water feature and a body of untouched water (which made me feel as though I had stepped out of the woods and into North America or something) and you'll come to the slides. Now, these were an incredibly strange and fascinating sight to see. They are covered in graffiti, sometimes inappropriate of course, and completely deserted, which has made them become somewhat picturesque in a way. Never would I have been interested in photographing slides if it wasn't for the spooky ambiance...
We were some of the only people that were exploring that day and it was incredibly hot. We had all come out with barely any water and after a few hours of walking realised how parched and slightly delirious we were becoming... We finally made it back to our bikes, and because my ped buddy was feeling a little light-headed, it was my turn to drive. We soon learnt that it was also peak hour for driving and after an all-important pit-stop, for what felt like a gallon of water, I drove back to the hotel through the mass of traffic; somehow both surviving the ordeal...
More from the waterpark...
A walkway to what would have been the aquarium...
Next week: Me and the trio start a part of the Hai Van Pass! #staytuned