Bus Trip Along The Coast

For the past 10 days, we have been traveling non-stop and trying to see the highlights of Vietnam and allowing enough time for the rest of the countries on our itinerary. We decided on An Phu Open Bus tours and 4 destinations to stop en route to Ho Chi Minh, though everyone calls it Saigon here. After leaving Hanoi, we took at 13 hour bus ride to Hue. Remembering our days in Peace Corps, we decided to save $5 and take the sitting bus, not the sleeper bus--it hasn't been that long since we completed Peace Corps, but I just don't have that in me anymore. We slept on our bags for pillows, curled up in little balls in our seats and managed the ride to Hue. I love this city, charming, European feel and was the capital of Vietnam during the 19th century. Also, stayed in a lovely guest house with a balcony overlooking the streets (it also had satellite tv!) We left early the next morning for Hoi An, about 6 hours south. The city was picturesque, the building were yellowish tint and old, the streets were dirt and lanterns hung in all the shops. We found a book exchange store owned by an American who fell in love with the place 20 years ago and never left- he was able to recommend some places to go. We watched the sunset over the river and listened to traditional music played by a group of older men. The guest house we stayed in was cheap, $10 a night, but it was a single room, no windows, and a place where I wore shoes everywhere. I was also able to find a cafe to skype, which is becoming more difficult. Many of the internet cafes refuse customers to use internet phone calling because they are losing money.
The next day we took another overnight bus to Nha Trang, the scuba capital of Vietnam! Finally, the weather was hot, very hot! We swam in the ocean, clear green waters, white beaches and surronded by small mountains. We found a great local bar, sat on the street and drank a small pitcher of local beer for less than $1 and tried a local favorite: fried tofu with a meatball inside dipped in soy sauce. Strange but delicious.
Wanting to stay longer, we knew we had to keep going--by the time this trip is finished, I'll need another vacation. We took a bus trip that was 200km south, but took over 5 hours to get there. We would stop for gas for 30 minutes, travel for 30minutes, then we stopped for lunch, then shortly after, the driver had to stop for a smoke. So annoying, but finally we made it to Muine, another beach town, very relaxing and isolated. We stayed at the opposite end of the tourist resorts, at a beachside bungalow for $15 a night. Out of our window we could see the beach, we laid in beach chairs underneath a bamboo umbrella for hours, the ocean was like bathwater. We splurged and went to the nicest restaurant yet, I had tuna and Brandon had a steak--total $12. The next morning we left for Saigon, another 5 hour journey, though our last in Vietnam! So far we haven't planned or reserved any places to stay, we show up and find one. Our luck ran out a bit in Saigon, we wandered the streets for almost an hour looking a different guest houses, walking to the 8th floor and finding a little closet of a room--but we eventually found a lovely room for $14 a night. Between Hanoi and Saigon, Saigon wins. But more later, off to dinner.