Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Trip Report Trip Report Vietnam continued

We departed Hanoi on a midday flight and were touring the Imperial Citadel in Hue by 3 p.m.. I was overwhelmed by its scale and grandeur. It began to rain and this added to the sense of wonder. An hour later when it was pouring my wonder was: is the rain ever going to let up. The rain defined the rest of our stay in Hue.
We stayed at La Residence Hue, a lovely property. Between Christmas and New Year's these places are fully booked. Despite a confirmation for the Colonial Wing, we were given a room in the new wing. It had all the character of a Red Lion Inn. The phrase "river view room" is to be regarded with skepticism. It can mean a peak-a-view of the water in the far distance if you squint and look beyond the other hotel wings in the near distance. As it happened, pouring rain turned out to be the view from every room during our two day stay.
Next day it rained and rained and rained. We visited the Thien Mu Pagoda, very worthwhile. We then took a boat ride up the Perfume River to the Royal Tombs of Emperor Minh Mang . In the afternoon we visited the Royal Tomb of Tu Duc. Our tour guide did a fine job of selecting outstanding examples of sights/monuments representing a particular architectural style or historical period. We'd told the company that packaged part of the trip (HaiVenu) that our preference was to see a few things and linger rather than zip around from place to place.
As part of his guiding (and I don't seem to have his card, sorry), he took us to a traditional garden house on stilts for dinner. It was quite commmercialized and filled with tourists. Since the food was very bad, I contented myself with beer and watching a group of Japanese tourists gradually loosen up during the course of the evening's libations.
Trip to the market was impossible due to rain; sellers need to protect their merchandise and close up. Despite being personally moist for two days in Hue, I would recommend going there, even if all one saw was the Imperial Citadel.
Next morning we left Hue and drove by van across the high mountain pass of Hai Van to Hoi An. The views of
Danang and the beach are said to be outstanding; our view was of windshield wipers squeeking across the van's front window. The small Cham Museum in Danang was well worth a stop. Nicely displayed sandstone statuary, some with delicate carvings; many pieces similar to what you see at Angkor Wat.
Hoi An is an exceptional town. Once the largest trading port in Indochina its now a UNESCO World Heritage area. Most of the traditional wood houses remain, as does the original street pattern. Strolling through town was a pleasure despite the _____ (4 letter word beginning with r).
Good eats were plentiful in Hoi An. We had excellent meals at Hai Cafe and Brothers' Cafe (sit out back by the river). Really good tailoring is hard to come by. The shops favor speed over precision. IMO the problem is they don't have the same skill or take the same care in proper measuring. (I've had the opposite experience in Bangkok where things fit perfectly). I did have a pant suit made and for what I paid (about $80 for black Thai silk pants, black and silver reversible jacket/sleeves and collar showing contrasting color and silver shell). Shop was 3 door from Hai Cafe on same side of the street; smart looking place, busy.
Life Resort was our hotel in Hoi An and a lovely place it was; well located at the edge of town. We stayed in a garden suite (some have only showers, others tub and shower so specify). The most desirable garden suites are on the ground floor and first floor in the middle of the garden area. Rooms are nicely appointed, restaurant food very nice. Massage at the spa, exceptional. Mai was terrific and our friends said their massages were also fantastic. Book massages as soon as you arrive at a hotel if its high season.
After two days in Hoi An (two was enough, three if you really want to slow things down) we drove back to Danang and flew Danang to Saigon. We were met and transported to Mui Ne beach where we spent three day doing practically nothing at the Victoria Phan Thiet Hotel. We were booked in to a beach front bungalow. The room was spacious, the room's terrace fronting the shore was delightful. They also had lounges on the sand, if you cared to walk 20 steps from your terrace chaise to your beach chaise.
T. The best views are from beachfront rooms 23-27. The food was so good, we are all meals at the resort. The staff was well meaning and friendly but not too well trained. Their smiles went a long way. The pool was inviting and refreshing and even in high, high season felt uncrowded.
I had a couple of massages, they were good enough; how bad can it be when your massage cabana is on the sand and the music you hear is the sound of the South Chin Sea lapping at the shore?
I did take a cab to the fishing village early one morning to do some photography. Watching the villagers bring in the catch was engrossing. The light was beautiful, I still had enough velvia 50 with me, so it was a very satisfying couple of hours. The fishing village life (such as women carrying in the catch in baskets, women and children sorting the fish on the beaach, men loading vats of fish onto oxcarts) was very similar to and as colorful and interesting as the fishing village next to Sandaway beach in Burma. When I got back to the hotel hubby was where I left him, enjoying a book on our terrace.
I have come to value a few days at the beach at the end of a long (23 days including air travel) or difficult trip. I really unwind and can begin to assimilate what I've experienced during the journey. I plan to continue this practice if at all possible.
Reluctantly, I left the beach and made the four hour drive back to Saigon in ample time to make our international flight. Thanks for letting me share a bit of my trip and enjoy it all over again.
PS: I can't quote prices on the hotels because I used a local operator to package the hotels, some (minimal guiding) and domestic air. I added up the prices shown for hotel and air on several websites to verify that the bid I got was reasonable.