Monday, April 22, 2013

Hué to Hoi An, Vietnam

Inside the train from Hué to Danang.
The train traveled though some of the more beautiful landscape we've seen in Vietnam.
The rocky coast into the South China Sea.



The elevator up to the Marble Mountains.
A pagoda built on top of one of the mountains.
Many of the caves in the Marble Mountains are Buddhist shrines.

The view from the highest peak of the Marble Mountains, China Beach stretches down from the right.


As opposed to the last train we took, this one rocked. It was only about 3 hours long but passed through some of the prettiest scenery. I maybe sat in my chair a total of 15 minutes. The rest of the time I spend in an empty train car that had open windows on both sides. I took some video (which I will try and post at some point), and took photos the whole time. There were tunnels, train bridges, mountains, secluded beaches, waterfalls, overgrown military outposts, and small hillside villages. This stretch of Vietnam's coast really packs it in. 

After the train we got a taxi to take us from Danang to Hoi An with a stop at the Marble Mountains. Which, as you can probably guess are several rocky outcroppings made of marble. We trekked up to the top to see the view, peaking in some of the naturally formed caves along the way. It was really hot and by the top we were both pretty drenched in sweat. We happily jumped back into the air-conditioned taxi for the remained of the trip down to Hoi An.

- Matt