We arrived to Hue at 5.30 in the morning on the 28th. We were able to sit in the hotel cafe for an hour or so, and store our bags, but since we couldn’t get into the room we decided to head out at around 7.30 to explore the citadel. Hue was the old capital of Vietnam, and the imperial citadel is a walled fortress of palaces and temples. It took a few hours to wander the entire grounds, with a few wrong turns and dead ends because it was very hard to tell which sections were actually open for visiting. We think we saw everything possible, and then headed out into the city. The imperial citadel is only the innermost walled section, but there are actually three layers of walls and moats, so our city exploration included more of this historic fortress area, but now with modern shops and restaurants lining the streets instead of palaces. It began to rain before too long, so we got a taxi back to the hotel where unfortunately our room was still not ready. We headed to a nearby restaurant for some local cuisine. Creed had made a list of dishes specific to Hue, so we ticked two of these off, and when we returned finally we were able to check in. After some rest we headed out to the local market and enjoyed a dinner of more of Creed’s local cuisine must-tries. We wandered along the river, and ended up back in the area close to our hotel, which was full of restaurants and bars and souvenir shops. It was very lively, and clearly gearing up for new year. We were able to watch some of the bands practicing for the countdown concert, along with some performances by local youth dance groups.

We’d opted for the citadel ticket which included entrance to some of the nearby tombs of past emperors, and this ticket only had a 2 day validity, so these tombs were our priority the next day. We rented a motorbike and mapped out a route around the whole city, taking in 3 of the most impressive royal tombs, some temples and pagodas, viewpoints, and even an abandoned waterpark with a huge dragon statue in the middle of a lake. Fortunately we had fantastic weather, even getting a little sunburned when we swapped our scooter for bicycles to cycle around the lake at the waterpark. The royal tombs we visited were each very different, one with huge grounds where the main building was sadly undergoing construction and not accessible, one up a lot of steps with the most impressive statues and mosaic work, and one situated amongst a picturesque series of lakes. It was a full and satisfying day, and after a brief rest we took the bike back out to check out a Mexican restaurant and hidden cocktail bar back in the walled section of the city.

The next day we left Hue, making it one of the shortest city visits we’ve done in a while. We still had the motorbike, and dropped off our bags at the bike shop to be transferred to our next hotel, while we drove the famous Hai Van Pass to get to Danang. We started our day with a bit of a detour, choosing the route that was not the most direct, but hugged the coastline, with a few beach stops along the way. It was a lovely day again, but not warm and fairly windy, so our beach stops were just for a windswept snack, not for lounging and swimming. We also drove through a few huge cemeteries, one marked on the map as the City of the Dead, full of extravagant mausoleums that rivaled the opulence of the local temples, with colour and statues and engravings and towering monuments to the deceased. We stopped for lunch overlooking a lagoon filled with oyster farms, before continuing across sea bridges to reach the beginning of the Hai Van Pass. This is a mountain pass right next to the ocean, making for spectacular views, though sadly the section of seafront closest to Danang has been razed to make way for future development, so currently there’s just an enormous building site for the last 2 miles of the pass. At the very top of the mountain is a fortress that used to be a key strategic point, when Hue was the capital of the country. Creed showed me pictures of his visit from 11 years ago, when the fortress was just a couple of ruined towers and a bunker – now it has been rebuilt to a series of walkways and buildings, with walls connecting the old towers.

In Danang we specifically wanted to do absolutely nothing, so I have no sightseeing to report on. We’d chosen a fantastic hotel close to the coast, with a roof top infinity pool and sauna to relax in. Our room had a sea view so we didn’t leave it much. After a few days of local market food in Hue we treated ourselves to some international comfort food delivered to the hotel. We were there for the new year festival, so we did head out to explore in the evenings. On the first night we made the most of still having our rental bike and drove around the city to explore. The next day was New Year’s Eve, so after an incredibly leisurely morning and afternoon we headed out to the riverside walking street which had a few games and exhibitions going on. We watched a few local dance groups do what seemed more like a low impact zumba class than a performance, and then crossed the river to get to the festival food market, where a much more lively show was going on. We picked up some delicious skewers and local beers, and shared a table with some other travellers, before heading back to the hotel. Thanks to the inconvenient time difference Creed had a small amount of work to do at 8pm before the year ended, so I turned his business call into a drinking game while I waited for him – a sip every time he said ‘I understand’, or had to re-ask a question that wasn’t answered. We had bought a bottle of champagne, and once he was done with his work we popped this, not wanting to have it with us on the street at midnight. Then we made our way down to the beach, where a huge countdown concert was taking place. We watched a series of singers do a few songs each, and all of the locals seemed to know every word to every song, so I assume they were famous Vietnamese pop stars, but we were none the wiser. It was a great atmosphere though, ending with a very confusing count up to 26 for the New Year, rather than the usual countdown from 10 to midnight. There wasn’t much of a firework show, just some flares and pinwheels, but many laser lights dancing all over the sky. Some of the nearby hotels also launched a few fireworks from their rooves which added to the spectacle. At this point lots of people dispersed but the concert continued as more of a street dance party, so we stayed and jumped around for a little while before calling it a night.

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Our first day of 2026 was again very leisurely. We had intended to celebrate the new year with a beach trip, especially because the weather was fantastic, but we never made it. We had some more great food (delivered, of course), a recovery sauna session, and headed back out in the evening for a concert at the Danang museum, where a fantastic orchestra set up in the building’s balconies played a selection of classical, traditional, pop and movie soundtrack pieces.

Thanks for following along on my crazy adventures!

 Ros ♥

If you’re interested in how I got here, or where I went next, check out the rest of the story!