Day 32! Even the slow recovery days are full of new people and adventures.

I woke up this morning feeling a bit better than the day before. So I made my way down for some free breakfast at the hostel!

There were a list of breakfast items to choose from and I went with a very good banana pancake and fruit! They also brought out some mango as well which was a nice addition to the meal!

While I was eating I met a man from North Carolina, Ricardo! He’s in his late 50s and he is bicycling across Vietnam! On top of that he went on a 2 year bike ride through 49 of the 50 US States!

Ricardo and I chatted for a while which made for a great start to the day! He was such a nice man and had some great stories to share! He’s hoping that once his wife retires she’ll join him on these wild adventures. But for now, he’s riding solo!

After breakfast I dropped my bike off at a friendly mechanic, Kim! His English was actually very good and made for an easy conversation about what I was needing! He told me to come back around 1pm so I made my way back to my hostel for a nice long nap.

After I woke up, my roommates from the night before were around so I asked them if they wanted to get some lunch! On top of that, I was chatting with friends from Hoi An and they also wanted to get lunch so we all met up and walked to a nearby restaurant for a flavorful meal!

The lady running the restaurant offered us lemon tea as well and between that and the spice level of the soup my cold was really starting to fade (the naps and slow start to the day really helped too).

After lunch I went to pick up my bike! Kim did a SOLID job with Kilby. He took her on a spin and fixed all the quirks he felt and heard. He repaired my front light, fixed my 4th gear light which randomly stopped working, tightened the chain, changed the oil, and even replaced the break pad on my back wheel because it was noisy to him.

He also ended up cleaning my bike which was very sweet of him. With this kindness comes a higher price tag and I ended up spending 500,000 Dong on the repairs (which is still only $10).

These repairs will all be very important before the big ride I have coming up in a few days!

We went back to my Hoi An friend’s hostel and waited for them to get motorbikes as well. We then set out for one of the main attractions in Hué, Parque Aquático Abandonado Thuy Tien, the abandoned water park!

I’ve never been to something this massive and abandoned before and it was quite spectacular!

The water park was built in 2004 and was promptly closed a few months later. It was reopened a few times and then closed a few more and then shut down for safety reasons.

It’s now a popular tourist attraction even with all the signs telling you to keep out.

The main part of the park is a giant sea monster which you can climb up the stairs and stand in its mouth… but we didn’t stop there.

We found a tiny hole in the ceiling and a few of us hoisted ourselves through and climbed a bit further to be completely on top of the beast!

My friend John from Malta (who I met in Hoi An) whipped out his camera and drone and took some cool pictures as well!

COMING SOON (once I get them…)

We then wandered around the rest of the park where there were some abandoned slides and buildings.

On our way out we spotted what looked like a little race track, but what I now think was an abandoned bicycle training area. But we zoomed around it a bit before a security guard told us to skedaddle.

We then went back to the hostel to take rest and get ready for the evening!

A few of us from the hostel made our way to get dinner. Fey from the UK, Theresa from Germany, Zack from Ireland, and Ansgar from Germany.

I went with a tofu and eggplant Com which was really good and pretty cheap!

Funnily enough, the restaurant we were at also had a familiar face! Mark, who I ran into at the water park and met in Hoi An was also there! So he ended up joining us for the rest of the night!

Dinner was great! We chatted all about life, travel, and everything in between.

After dinner we were wanting something sweet, so Mark, Fey, Ansgar, and I went over the bridge in town towards the Dong Ba Market.

The market unfortunately closed early but there was a lively crowd out front listening to a security guard doing karaoke!

If I was staying another night I would definitely come back to this area to eat! The streets were filled with locals eating at street vendors and it looked like the place to be!

We then wandered some more and found a coffee shop that allegedly had cake.

It unfortunately did not… but that got us in the mood for a bakery! So we set out to find one.

We had our eyes set on one but found another on the way that was a bakery in the style of a candy shop!

You grabbed a tray and picked and chose what you wanted!

The desserts were very cheap and we snacked our butts off as we walked back to the hostel!

The streets were alive and bustling on the way back with people in Pikachu costumes, dancing transformers, and lots of loud clubs.

Outside the market I picked up a fruit I’ve been seeing everywhere and wondering what it was. So for 10,000 Dong I bought a Sugar Apple.

I’ll be honest. I am not a fan, but I’m glad I finally gave it a try! There’s a lot of fruits in SE Asia that I can’t wait to get my hands on.

Ansgar was wanting a buzz cut so mark ran back to his hostel to grab his razor and we shaved his head in the bustling streets!

It was a goofy way to end the night but we got lots of laughs from locals and travelers passing by.

I was honestly very impressed with my time in Hué. I heard lots of negative reviews about it and maybe it lowered my expectations but this is definitely a place that I enjoyed!

I don’t think I need to spend a lot of time here but I met great people that made the town a joy to explore!

I also am starting to feel a ton better! Soooo…

Tomorrow I’ll set off on the first part of a long adventure! My friend Tom who I met in Dalat told me about the road from Khe Sanh to Phong Nha. Apparently it was his favorite part of his entire adventure!

I’ll be spending the day in Khe Sanh after a 4 hour scenic ride (the regular ride takes around 2.5 hours).

Looking forward to another great bike ride, good people, and more stories!

– Elie