Our Visa Ran Out and we Only Made it Through Half the Country!(DMZ, Hue, Hoi An Vietnam)
Our E-Visa for Vietnam was a 30 day visa. We planned to spend no more than 3 weeks initially, going from Hanoi to Saigon as many travellers do. But between losing some time nusring sickness and finding a plethora of wonderful sights in the country, our time in Vietnam would run out just about halfway between the two major cities of the country. But from Phong Nha, we were able to see the former Demilitarized Zone between North and South Vietnam; Hue, which has the former Ngyuen Imperial Capital, and the ever-popular seaside town of Hoi An.
Former Demilitarized Zone, Central Vietnam
The DMZ tour was quick and simple: some buses from Phong Nha to Hue are dedicated DMZ buses, and they took us to the three major sights that comprise many of the tours. We first stopped at the complex network of the Vinh Moc Tunnels. They were constructed during the Vietnam War at a depth of 10 meters. The Americans would bomb anything that moved (or showed light at night), so the Vietnamese had to move underground, living there for many years. The Americans figured this out and made bombs to penetrate the tunnels. In response the Vietnamese created a second set of tunnels that were 30 meters below the ground.
Inside contained bathrooms (with ventiliation shafts dug to the top), kitchens, bedrooms, and other alcoves needed for daily life. It doesn't sound fun, but one silver lining was the welcome coolness that living underground provided, especially when the mercury approaches 100 degrees F in the summertime. While I didn't fit vertically, Lena did, and I read that they are more spacious than the more popular Cu Chi Tunnels that tourists visit near Saigon. It was a bit disorienting, especially because the guide led us through them with only our phone flashlights and we did not know how long we would be in them. Quite a few tourists were antsy, including myself. On a more fun note, one of the tunnel entrances was right overlooking the South China Sea, the closest we have gone to seeing the Pacific this entire trip.
Hue
Our time in Hue consisted of two main attractions: the former imperial palace and an abandoned waterpark. I'll let the pictures do the talking for the palace, which was gigantic and captivating in every way.
For the abandoned waterpark, it was built about 15 years ago, in operation for a year or two, and then mysteriously closed down from then on out. But no one has made any effort to stop people from exploring the grounds, and a dragon complex, water slides, and lazy river can all be seen today.
Hoi An
We heard great things about Hoi An, most notably that it was an Asian Venice. While charming, I did find myself a little underwhelmed by the city, as it is quite the tourist trap. Or maybe it was just overrun by tourists, both domestic and international. It reminded me of Cartagena (Colombia) a bit: stunning in pictures, but not so much substance in reality.
The main strip of Hoi An features these beautiful strings of lanterns, shops and restaraunts lining the colonial architectured streets, and in the middle a river featuring boats for hire and candles floating down it. It was quite lovely, but we had no need to stay as long as we did.
We spent three days at The Seaside Bungalow about 7km from town, but the beach it was near had some trash and it was too hot for the beach. Scams were also quite common at night from the taxis, as we were far from town, though thankfully it didn’t happen to us. Either way, we decided to stay in town for the last days, and plan our next step from there. We caught the cheapest flight that google flights showed us: a nonstop flight to Chiang Mai, Thailand. And just like that, all of our plans for the trip were upended. Though, that’s not a bad thing.
