Hue

Staying
DMZ
I stayed 2 nights at the DMZ hotel - booked through Agoda.com for about $15AUD each night.
When I arrived I was told that as they were very busy and most rooms were full - I have been upgraded to the deluxe "city view" room. I am not sure what exactly made it "deluxe.... maybe that it had a computer in the room? maybe the normal rooms don't have windows? But I got a window, and tiny balcony. The "city view" was more of the big ugly building opposite and nothing else.
The bed was comfortable enough, the bathroom worked and had a luxurious rain shower (although, the toilet was pressed against the shower glass and it was hard to fit!) and the whole room was clean.

hiding out from the midday heat I ordered room service once - prices were reasonable, and the food was actually really tasty (I had pasta) but there wasn't much food, next time I would get 2 courses.

What to do?
Bike ride
I most enjoyed riding a bike around the country-side. It is a very easy bike ride to the Thien Mu pagoda, where you can hop across the river on a boat (with your bike - bargain hard, these guys are much more ferocious boat drivers!). From the drop off point - TURN LEFT (the boat driver told me to ride right, which went against my judgement.... and in fact ended in me backtracking 2km to find the road! It is easy enough to ride to Tu Duc's mausoleum.

Tu Hieu Pagoda

On the way back to Hue, assuming you aren't completely over saturated with pagodas, stop off at Tu Hieu Pagoda. Set on a hill amongst pine forests it features beautiful ponds and gardens. Lovely cool spot to have a rest and sit and contemplate life.

If you want to take a packed lunch - hit up La Boulangerie Francese before you leave Hue. They take in orphans and street children and train them to bake traditional french style rolls and cakes. This is the only place I have had a decent cake!

Tombs

Tu Duc's tomb

I saw Tu Duc's tomb. This one is a pretty easy bike ride as above. I liked it, there a nice breeze, lots of wide open spaces and trees. These are all things I like. A few buildings - houses and theatres with old costumes, jeweled bonsai trees and random artifacts to look at. There is an island near the entrance with monkeys living on it.
For a few dollars you can dress up in imperial clothes and sit on the emperors throne.
There are many many tombs you can go see. I only went to the one (So far) and I feel the tours that visit all 8 would be long, expensive and tedious. But friends of mine visited 3 in a morning, and they enjoyed three - try to go to very varied ones though!

Citadel

Citadel at night during special event.

I saw the citadel at night during a special event, and it was stunning. In the daytime it is very, very hot. please go early morning or late afternoon.... otherwise you just won't be able to appreciate anything! Lots of stone and concrete to be bouncing sun off! but it's interesting, assuming you have an interest in old stuff.






Bars
For some reason, even though I don't like the drinking, partying, backpacker scene.... in Hue, I get into it. Well, I go to a bar I like, and if I meet fun people I might even keep going afterwards!
Hue backpackers Hostel - has a good bar, with good quality alcohol (No metho!) and good music, played at a volume which allows you to talk! The owner is an Aussie, and is often hanging out near the end of the bar. Lovely guy, great for a chat! They are also able to give advice and arrange tours, and I find they tend to give advice about all the ways to travel (e.g. here is the cost of local bus / train; here is a tour; here is a taxi price) rather than just pushing their own tours.
Plus, they have awesome food (I only tried the western food - it had been 3 months since I had a pizza! but I am sure their Vietnamese food is good too!), good cocktails, happy hours regularly, and giant jenga.
You can also participate in the duck egg challenge, or get a variety of favoured shots. Point is - everytime I have been there, I have had a good time!

Spa luxury
Evan - 4 pham ngu lao street
Know that spa services in Vietnam aren't for everyone. Privacy and inappropriate touching locations are not what you would get in a western spa! If you can't deal with getting undressed while someone stands next to you waiting and watching..... go to a fancy hotel with a more expensive spa!

I got the massage and body scrub. It wasn't perfect - I wanted the massage and mudwrap. But I ended up with a scrub and it was good. The woman had very, very strong hands and gave a good strong massage!
But there was a fair bit of one handed massage while texting someone. - I was also told by some friends who got massages later that they felt the massage was too soft, but I don't think any of them told their person the be harder.

But the massage was good, the scrub was nice, and I feel well pampered and soft! The spa has air-conditioning which was very needed! Lockers in the treatment room to store your handbag and very comfortable soft mattresses on the treatment beds.


Scams
Cyclo and motorbike taxi's are extremely persistent here! Much more than anywhere else I have been. However, if you politely say no once, then completely ignore them - or say Toi di Bo (I am walking). they lose interest. If one harrasses you - DO NOT GET IN IT! this just teaches them that if they harass and keep annoying you, you will give in.
I have also heard of people agreeing to go for a one hour cyclo ride around the city, assuming the ride would return to the original place, but instead finding themselves in the middle of nowhere, and the driver demanding more money to take you back. Either stay in the cyclo and refuse to give him more money - (assuming you were clear at the start that the tour would return to the same place). Of get out, and get some other mototaxi, or some other cyclo back. Please don't reward them for their lying and scheming!

Incense making village on the bike ride to Tu Duc's tomb 

Da Nang - more than just an airport

Da Nang seems to get skipped on most people's list of places to travel in Vietnam. Well, almost skipped. It is usually used as a convenient train station/airport, from which people get a taxi or bus to Hoi An.

This is unfair, because it actually has a reasonable amount to offer.

1. Da Nang is a great "local" city to visit. It is easy for visitors to get around and get whatever they need because many people speak at least a little English. Especially at the train station. Otherwise, I usually have no problem getting what I need with a tiny amount of Vietnamese and sign language. Because it doesn't have a huge tourist following (most of the foreigners here are doing business) you don't get harassed to buy things, or go into this or that restaurant constantly. Mostly, people just say hello and invite you in for a drink because they are genuinely interested and excited to see Westerners. In 3 months of living here - I have once been asked for money by a beggar / lottery ticket sales woman. The local council is actually very strict with beggars - but has available shelter and food for homeless people (If caught begging more than once people will be taken to the homeless shelter, regardless of whether or not they want to go there). Mostly people who are poor sell lottery tickets (they don't usually bother with Westerners because we don't know how the lottery works!) or collect rubbish to sell for recycling.

2. It is an easy visit on the way to such tourist sites as Hoi An and Hue (or, between these two sites!). The train from Hue to Da Nang or vis versa is 80 000 VND ($4) for soft air conditioned seats and about 3 hours of amazing scenery. The railway goes along the coast and is widely known as the most beautiful stretch of railway.

The local bus should be 20 000VND ($1) from Da Nang to Hoi An. Price does change, and I hate arguing about tiny amounts of money. So accept it if they ask for 30 000. but no more! they try to charge foreigners more on this stretch because they think they can get away with it. Don't let them! The bus people are paid by the company to be on the bus taking tickets - they will pocket the extra if you let them have it! So take exact change and only give them 20-30! Local bus can be caught from along Le duan street (look for the blue signs with a bus picture.

3. Sites
Dragon bridge
This bridge actually breathes fire and blows water out of it's mouth on Thursday and Saturday nights (Also I think sunday night as well?) at 9-9.30 (I was told it would be at 9pm. It didn't start until 9.30,, not sure if late that day or always at 9.30pm)

You can view this from either side of the river. This photo was taken from standing on the tail end of the river. You can also get quite close to the head end if you stay on that side! Even if it isn't breathing fire the bridge is beautiful at night when lit up with colour changing lights.

From the riverside (a beautiful walk featuring marble statues) you can also see the sail bridge, the Han bridge and the rainbow bridge - all of which light up at night with colour changing light shows.

Lady Buddha-              Towering over the north end of My Khe beach on the side of Monkey mountain this statue can be seen from miles away! She is well worth a trip up, just to get a feel for how big she really is! The pagoda also has an interesting garden with bonsai trees and smaller statues throughout.                                                   It can be very busy with tourist buses and large groups of people - but there is plenty of space!

Cham museum

If you are making time to go to My Son the Cham museum is worth a trip too. There are interesting photos of My Son before it was cleared of jungle and some of the best statues and sculptures were removed before the American war - thus have survived the bombing and gun fire that damaged a lot of the remaining statues. Information is presented in English (as plastic sheets you can pick up and read) and if I recall correctly it was only 20-50 000VND (I think 20). Cham Museum is located across the road from the tail of the dragon bridge.

Marble mountains

The marble mountains are to the south of town, on the way to Hoi An. If you do get a taxi you may as well as them to stop at the marble mountains. Tell the taxi you will be going onto Hoi An. He shouldn't charge you waiting time.... because if he doesn't wait it would be easy to get a new taxi anyway!

These mountains can be annoying when you get touted at constantly. However, if you are firm with a no (Khong - pronounced Kom) most of the people trying to sell incense, or marble, or whatever will leave you along. If you try to be "polite" by saying maybe later, or umming and ahhing -- they will remember and try you again later - much more insistently, or will keep pushing if you um and ahh.

Stairs up Marble Mountain

However, past the touts you get to climb many-many stairs, and discover various little caves and tunnels filled with statues and shrines. The largest of these were used as hospitals by the viet-cong during the war, even though at the base of the mountain was the US's biggest airbase! The mountain also features a pagoda and a number of lookouts. 

In the last few years an elevator has been added making it possible for those who are unable to walk up all the stairs to get to the top.  

My Khe beach

My Khe (or America beach) stretches more or less all the way from monkey mountain to Hoi An. The southern end is becoming covered with 5 star Chinese or Russian resorts.

 Happily, the parts of the beach near to the city will not become built up by resorts as the road runs along the side of the beach. This beach is by far my favourite in Vietnam (that I have been too!) I have never been annoyed by people trying to sell drinks or food while walking or relaxing on the beach (unlike other places). But there are drink stalls and deck chairs that you can rent to relax on. Early in the morning the beach is busy with locals exercising and the fishermen returning and selling fish - definitely an interesting time to walk along the beach!

 It also is patrolled by lifeguards in certain areas.

My Khe Beach

Da Nang is well worth a stop over of a night or two, if only en enjoy a relaxing change of pace from the highly trafficked tourist hotspots of Hoi An and Hue. Definitely a place to enjoy not getting offered souvenirs/clothes/whatever else touts are always trying to sell tourists!

Phong Nha: Caves and countryside

Why would I go there?

CAVES!
Phong Nha has a series of caves that you can visit in day trips (including day trips from Hue - but this is a long drive) and is the setting off point for longer multi day caving trips.

How do I get there?

Trains stop at Dong Hoi, but then you need to find a transfer out to Phong Nha. around the station are lots of taxis (~400K) motorbikes (~200ishK) and private vehicles from places such as Phong Nha Homestay, who should cost about 400K for the car, divided by however many of you are in it.

Local bus to and from Hue is 150K, it leaves Phong Nha at 5am. Not sure what time it leaves Hue. I also believe there are local buses from Dong Hoi, but only once or twice a day.... not sure of times however.

Where did I stay?

Pepperhouse homestay. Dorm bunks or limited double beds (still more dorm like as beds are seperated but curtains) 200K per person per night, in the dorm or in the double beds, this includes breakfast. This is an actual homestay, the Aussie husband and Vietnamese wife team sleep in one of the curtained off beds and the rest of the family live just next door. You often get kids wandering over and happy to have someone pay them some attention and play catch with the ball for a little while.

Very relaxing place to stay, you can hire bikes or motorbikes (though the hire on these takes advantage of the fact that you don't have other options and is a lot more than other places - 100k for the bike and I think 300K for the motorbike). 7km bike ride into Phong Nha town, or a nice relaxing walk around the little farming community. Or just stay in a have a cold beer and relax in a hammock. Make sure to join in the afternoon game of volleyball, they are always welcoming.

Food was reasonably priced and quite tasty.

Eating out

I only ate at the homestay, or at one restaurant in town: Vung Hue. It is on a side street (on the opposite side of the main road to the river), the street just before the ATM. The woman here will look after you bikes for free while you go to the caves, or walk through town. Multi (from the homestay) has also convinced her to cook the same food for westerners as she cooks for locals (most places see westerners and give you heaps of fairly boring food... partly because they think you want lots and don't know how good Viet food can taste, partly because they figure you will only go there once anyway, so it doesn't matter). But multi has got her with an English, printed menu and good food - promising that if she only rips people off a little, and the food is good... tourists will tell each other to eat there!
The food was amazing! a group of us from the pepperhouse shared a few dishes, and all were great. But the pork spare ribs were mindblowing! (we got a second plate of that!)

Trips

Phong Nha cave is only accessible by boat. Tickets into the cave cost 80K each. Plus the boat is 320K (but seats up to 14). The best way is to wait around the ticket booth until more people come, and share the boat with them. You can also pay a little extra and also see a second cave


It is also possible to do a day trip with the Phong Nha homestay that takes in a series of the further away caves, or hire a motorbike and ask for a map to paradise cave and dark cave. I didn't do this.... but was told by people that the motorbike ride up to these caves was the highlight for them. And everyone says that Paradise is the most amazing!

Multi-day caving
I did a 3 day trip with oxalis into Tu Lan caves system.
They have a number of trips of various lengths.
I would absolutely recommend this trip! It was awesome! The jungle we trekked through felt much more adventurous than other locations (this was more a path made by people using it, not cleared and with steps. Just slippery mud and rocks to stand on (probably less slippery if it hasn't been raining!). You get given dry bags, helmets, headlamps and lifejackets. You will trek through jungles, hike up hills, walk through caves, swim through caves, swim through caves in the pitch blackness without your lights on! camp, or hammock in the jungle next to beautiful waterfalls and rivers, eat amazing food (cooked for you by the porters who also carry all the food and set up camp for you!), see birds, butterflies, possibly snakes (we had to detour off path due to a snake sunning himself!).