Moto from Hoi An to Hue

Well... I have traveled many different ways on this trip, but today was the day that I got to travel from Hoi An to Hue via motorcycle. Of course there aren't helmets small enough for little bears (of course...) So I couldn't ride as a passenger like the humans but had to ride in a back pack. I wondered how the motorcycles were going to transport backpacks... but they had racks on the back where they strapped things down.

Our first stop was the Marble Mountains near Danang - there were some beautiful pagodas on the mountains. And some caves with statues... beary pretty.

And yes - there actually is quite a bit of marble at the Marble Mountains - and the people here are renowned for their marble carvings. Lots of dragons and lions and warriors and buddhas... but not a single bear statue!!

Then we drove by China Beach and headed up to Hai Van pass. It was a strategic spot during several wars so there are some old French and US bunkers here.

After the pass, there was a stop at Elephant Springs - a river with big pools between large boulders. It was a Sunday so it was super crowded!!

And then finally... we are in Hue!! Hue is the ancient imperial capital of Vietnam. Unfortunately, it was heavily damaged during the war and you can see remnants of this all over the city. There are also vendors selling old military equipment, like these canteens.

And meal plates and bags...

And tonnes of medals and insignia from military units - some Vietnamese, and some American.

I am just a little bear so I don't recognize most of these!

Although this one, which has an eagle and the word Airborne, looks like it should be US.

Hue is also famous for its incense sticks. There is a village nearby where you can buy all sorts of incense sticks. They paint the bottoms of the incense sticks various colours so you know what the "flavour" of incense is.

And they get pretty creative in their display of these sticks!!

It's a flower!!

And there are some of the finished incense sticks drying in the son. These ones were cinnamon... I think... More adventures to come!