Stopovers in Cua Lo Beach, Dong Hoi, Danang, Hoi An, Kon Tum, Saigon, Vietnam

Six stopovers in six days covering approximately 1000 miles in bouncing honking buses simply means I was not captivated by Central Vietnam photographically speaking. Some might find this extreme but I cannot fake inspiration.
It was an unique journey nevertheless only no photos came of it.

One of the best aspects of this 6 town bus journey was that I did not travel with other tourists so it was an authentic Vietnamese experience i.e. hours of Vietnamese folk music providing the soundtrack to the scenery passing by.
During the past 6 months it became apparent that by using Vietnam’s local bus system I could dramatically decrease and almost completely eliminate my interaction with foreigners unless I was traveling to and from tourist traps.

I am aware of the “open date” or “open tour” bus tickets where one cheap ticket offers a chance to hop on and off at popular stops. These open tickets are not used by Vietnamese people.

I would not use these if they gave them away for free. They are one step above organized tours, a thought of which gives me anxiety, nausea and possible a rash.
They also have time restraints and I prefer to catch a bus whenever and wherever I wish.

Open date tickets are great for backpackers who desire to meet other western travelers on the road traveling between tourist traps.
And by all means keep using them so I can keep traveling with locals!

Cua Lo Beach near the supposedly unattractive town of Vinh was my first stop after leaving Ninh Binh which is one of three state beaches in the Northern part of Vietnam.
Spite that the popular guidebook does not recommend a stop there I was curious to see it. Because it is mostly visited by Vietnamese tourists and being a communist state run beach I expected something unique.

It was unique alright. I saw only one other western tourist which was great but this place was completely out of control.
Solicitations for the never ending row of seafood restaurants, bars, souvenirs, kites, motorbikes, karaoke / massages parlors were non stop as I walked down the beach and the streets. It was both funny and exhausting. Not a single second to relax.

The town itself had no character photographically.
My stop at Cua Lo Beach could have had a happy ending (massage parlor humor) but I opted to skip the dozens of relaxing offers and checked out after one night. My hotel cost $13.

Dong Hoi has little to nothing to offer photographically (maybe on a BYOM trip - Bring Your Own Model) but has a nice and quiet beach as opposed to the insanity of Cua Lo.
Locals had the usual wide-eyed, bewildered reaction to me.

One memorable moment was when I stopped by an internet cafe I saw a 7 year old kid smoking a cigarette in public. Offered me a smoke too. No one even blinked an eye.

Stop at Dong Hoi for a food or toilet break or if you want to see kids drinking vodka on th beach. Not enough to hold me over for longer than an overnight stay; I got extorted $13 for my hotel room.

Danang is not as appreciated by travelers as it should be according to the popular tour book. It is a big city supposedly with charm.
The river front was nice where kids and adults alike were flying kites. The city did not appeal to me photographically.

I stayed at one of the worst of the recommended hotels for $6.80 because I did not wish to spend more money in this town. Packed up and left the following morning.

Hoi An is only about 12 kilometers away from Danang so a I let a slick motorbike driver “convince me” to go straight to Hoi An instead of to the bus station.
We agreed on a price beforehand which is a must in Vietnam. It was a generous at 80,000VND ($5) but it was a door to door service and saved me a bit of a hassle.

Judging from the driver’s demeanor I was suspecting an inflated price by the time we arrived to the hotel so I decided to sit back and wait to see which trick he would use.

First he stopped by the famous China Beach for 2 minutes which was all torn up by several resort constructions. Afterwards he took me to a marble carving store where I had a chance to shop from the magnificent statues and souvenirs. How convenient, I loved this motorbike driver, not too obvious at all.

I hardly ever buy any souvenirs so I purchased a nicely carved $10 green head of Buddha for good karma and something I can hold in my hand or display which reminds me of Vietnam when back in USA.
(Note to self: now this is a $15 motorbike ride.)

At the hotel the price of the ride jumped back to 100,000VND the original price. I told him no, he said but he stopped by all those places, I told him I did not ask for that in the original deal.
Arguments are almost non existent in Vietnamese culture which would mean embarrassment and loosing face so I handled this incident like any other with humor.
Like a parent lecturing a child I told the motorbike driver “it is not nice” to change more than the original price. And that was it.

Hoi An being the next stop after Danang means I did not stop in Hue, the formal capital. Hue is an absolute must see by all tourist which is strike one for me. Hue is a tourist trap as well; been there done that.
So instead of Hue I went to the charming Hoi An.

I have been thinking about a way to explain (to myself) why I avoid very touristy places even if they are stunning World Heritage sites, why the crowds take away all the beauty and excitement those destinations offer.

So I came up with the movie theater example. Lets say there is a must see movie playing which is very popular, seen by millions of people, a great artistic masterpiece.
The only catch is that the movie theater will be packed with annoying, loud, constantly talking, inconsiderate, littering audience. Is it still worth going to? Can all the annoyances be ignored? Can it result in a pleasant viewing experience? Not for me.

Hoi An is supposed to be small and touristy and it sure was. The historic section held little interest for me being an almost non stop row of restaurants and souvenir shops yes, undoubtedly in a historic setting.
I could have taken bicycle trips to the beach or through the country side but looking back most likely by this point I just wanted to get through Central Vietnam as fast as possible.
The $8 hotel room was very nice, excellent value and nice staff.

Kon Tum is an off the beaten track in the Central Highlands of Vietnam.
I decided to skip the popular beach regions and coastal tourist traps and head for the more intriguing mountains.
The road through the mountains, most of the time following a river to Kon Tum was spectacular.

Kon Tum is “quite possibly the friendliest city in Vietnam” says a popular guide book. The possible reasons why I did not experience this:

• I have an off putting horrible personality and/or appearance which alienated, scared, intimidated the locals
• the attitude of the population has changed since 2007
• the writer was high on mushrooms or exhaust gases from the bus ride
• the writer mixed up his Soc Trang or Ha Tien reviews with Kon Tum
• all of the above
• none of the above and I give up

At this time I must come to the defense of the rest of Vietnam since it does not read guidebooks and does not have a blog.
I am not saying anything negative about the people of Kon Tum but they were not extremely friendly nor unfriendly, there was nothing special or unusual.
They were in my experience a bit shy and bewildered by foreigners which is common for towns off the beaten track.

Because all the above stopover towns I left after one day someone can say I do not have enough data to make any assumptions but after visiting over a dozen towns in Vietnam patterns emerge after a few hours of roaming the streets at any place.
Any non friendly or tourist-neutral town can be “warmed up” of course by spending more time in it and having the locals get to know the traveler personally.

In contrast I can fall in love with any town as fast as I can fall out of love and when I stay some place I like I usually spend more time than usual so that evens things out in the end.

“Quite possibly the friendliest city in Vietnam” is an exaggerated statement which is insulting to the rest of Vietnam and its kind and friendly people.
The hotel was OK, forgot how much I paid.

Saigon was my sixth and last stopover before returning the fantastic Mekong Delta. I should not even have stopped in Ho Chi Minh City but after a 12 hour overnight trip in a half sitting half laying position I gave in.
I could have been in the nearest Mekong town in just 2 more hours so this was an unnecessary stopover

I stayed in the same hotel where I was before which was now even more expensive in the low season than during last December’s high season.
Just like in Hanoi it is wise to book in advance in Saigon so out of laziness I only called one (my old) hotel and took the only $19 room available.

I checked out after one night leaving for a completely off the beaten track town of the Mekong Delta: Tra Vinh.