Lunch @ La Carambole, Hue

As La Carambole was mentioned in one of Trixy's Vietnam guide, we decided to go there for lunch. It's located at 19 Pham Ngu Lao St (pronounced as Phab Ngu Lao)



We ordered USD8 and USD10 Vietnamese set meal. Found nothing specially good, as u can see above :(


The highlight of my afternoon was seeing a Hummer2 next to where I was seated :D



As we didn't take a photo of La Carambole's facade before going in, we took after we finished lunch. It was then I saw the original Hummer :D



After lunch we went further down the street and managed to get ourselves a red tie-dyed pants each. It was hot under the sun after lunch, we continued walking to the paralel street but didn't see anything interesting. Thus we headed back to Huong Giang Hotel for our afternoon siesta :D




Note: Combination of photos courtesy of Trixy Chua and Khaw Jo Anne

Huong Giang Hotel, Hue

After staying 2 nights in Vinh Hung Resort, Huong Giang Hotel (pronounced as Hng Zang) was hardly a pleasant surprise. It was located along Perfume River and was approximately 30 years old!

The hallways smelled a little musty and the room's decor was rather antiquated:

I took this photo as there were rose petals in the toilet bowl ;)


View from our balcony:

Although we've respectively taken naps in the car, we still felt tired...but still the tummy growls...so after checking in, out under the scorching sun we went a-hunting for lunch

Note: Combination of photos courtesy of Trixy Chua and Khaw Jo Anne

Hai Van Tunnel-Lang Co Beach-Hue

The driver picked us up as appointed at 9am from Vinh Hung Resort to Hue. I think it was about 3hours drive to Hue from Hoi An including a stop at Lang Co beach. Trixy and I decided to skip other stops such as China Beach, Marble Mountain, Cham museum...

Long and winding road towards Hai Van tunnel.


Entering Hai Van tunnel, longest in South East Asia at 6.28km.

exiting the tunnel many minutes later...


View at scenic Lang Co beach (located in Thua Thien-Hue province) on our way to Huong Giang (pronounced as Hng Zng) Hotel, Hue:

On one side, there's the rolling hills from where we exited Hai Van tunnel

hmm, should I just give up on life and walk right in? Goodbye world...

Nah, my feet were freezing from the cold sea water under the hot sun!

Take a guess...Which is my shadow?

After a 10minutes break, including toilet break (this was the most fragrant in my entire trip!), we headed towards Huong Giang Hotel, Hue.

Note: Combination of photos courtesy of Trixy Chua and Khaw Jo Anne

Last night in Hoi An :'(

Mi Quang, a Hoi An speciality food that we requested Thieu to get for us ;) This was the only time we consumed chicken. Loved the tumeric chicken...ours was special as we also had BBQ pork (char siew).


Apart from Mi Quang, we were also treated to a sumptious lunch at Vinh Hung Restaurant in Hoi An town as part of our guided tour package.


After filling our tummies, off we went for walking tour of Hoi An town. First stop was the Japanese Bridge linking the Japanese and Chinese quarters for commercial/trading purposes as there's a river below...


Thieu mentioned that the bridge took 2 years to complete.


Across the Japanese Bridge, we entered a Chinese house with unique architecture.
pillars built on marble slabs to prevent termite infestation.

looking upwards from the rosewood furniture we were seating view of the rosewood furniture from above

across from where we enjoyed the free green tea, courtesy of our hostess :)


Our last stop was the Hokkien Temple before going for another round of fitting in A Dong Silk before returning to Vinh Hung Resort for a shut-eye. A pleasant surprise awaited us courtesy of the Housekeeping crew of Vinh Hung Resort when we returned from the guided walking tour of Hoi An town. The heart-shaped face were made out of leaves.



Trix and I took the bicycle out to town that night :)
On the way we stopped at a silver accessories shop. Trix bought a ring with blue stone while I had to wait about 2 hours for my made-to-order 'Trinity' ring. Trixy went for another fitting while I paid for mine (to be collected together with Trixy's later).

We decided to have dinner at the Cargo Club:




After dinner, we collected my ring and our tailor-made clothes from A Dong Silk. Then we headed back to Vinh Hung Resort to pack. The next morning, we'll be heading for Hue by car.




Note: Combination of photos courtesy of Trixy Chua and Khaw Jo Anne

My Son...its ruins

We started early on 20 Mar 2008 to My Son (pronounced as mee sern). The guide was at the lobby at 8am with the same van & driver as the one that picked us up fr Danang International Airport. The road trip was about an hour from Hoi An to My Son.

At the entrance to My Son


could not help but to take this photo in the toilet at the entrance to My Son. Just turn on and off the lever to flush...must remember to turn off! ;)

a short trek up (abt 200m) to the cultural centre before proceeding to the temple ruins and from the ruins back down was another 300m.

the Cham cultural show

origins of Cham people were from Java, thus the similarity to Borobudur and Angkor, or so says the guide Thieu from Rose Travel. Apart from going through the test of times, some valuable statues, stone/gold carvings, etc were carted away during the French rule and also further destroyed in the 1970s during the Vietnam War.

boy that's heavy to hold up on my palm!

Thieu said that the phallus and its base are the symbols of fertility.....rub it if u want to beget a child. I was at least a metre away from all these stones!

Being cheeky in the library...

Note: Combination of photos courtesy of Trixy Chua and Khaw Jo Anne

Tiring fitting, then dinner

We were still tired although have rested so Trix suggested that I cycle and she take the 'xe om' (motorbike for hire). The 'xe om' lady kindly supplied a towel to pad the seat at the back of the bicycle for an easier ride back for Trix.

First we headed towards A Dong Silk, then to fill our tummies with Vietnamese food by the riverside:







Night view of Hoi An...

Then we went to the nearby market to buy some longan and an orange for dessert back by the riverside in Vinh Hung Resort. After having fruits, we called it a night as we were going for guided tour of My Son followed by lunch and walking tour of Hoi An town the next day.

Note: Combination of photos courtesy of Trixy Chua and Khaw Jo Anne

Hoi An food showcase @ Vinh Hung Resort

From our room on 1st floor, we could hear tranquil sound of water running...later, we found that it was attributable to:




A few more sights of the resort before the Hoi An food speciality showcase and then we'll set out to A Dong Silk for clothes fitting and dinner :D





Browsing and selecting what to have in the showcase:





Note: Combination of photos courtesy of Trixy Chua and Khaw Jo Anne