Day 66! Well, after 10 days in paradise, I’ve decided it’s time to head on from my small home in Hoi An and head back to Hue where I’ll be entering into Laos from! I can’t wait to come back to Hoi An in the near future, but I’m VERY excited to visit another new country!

I woke up this morning nice and early for my final hostel breakfast. The pancakes, fruit, and egg Banh Mi have been a staple of my last couple of weeks and I’ll definitely miss them.

I got to enjoy breakfast with my friends Alex and Jack and also a couple newcomers to the hostel. It was a nice way to finish out my time at this amazing hostel!

I then packed up and settled up with T, one of the hostel owners and the total came out to around $13 a night for food and dorm! The dorm wasn’t the cheapest I could’ve had in Hoi An, but the food was cheap and the company was fantastic, so I think it was a steal!

I then said my “see you laters” to my friends that were up and sent some messages to the ones that were still sleeping.

Before leaving, I gave T and V a hug and thanked them for providing such a great place to stay. I also gave them my WhatsApp and told them if they ever needed help to let me know and I’d be back in a heartbeat! We’ll see if they take me up on it.

The Seaside Bungalow was hands down my favorite hostel in all of Vietnam. It provided a very chill space to meet likeminded solo travelers from all around the world, had amazing owners that truly cared about the people staying there, and had top notch food (even if it took a while to be made). Oh, and of course was right next to the beach!

I thoroughly enjoyed my time here and made some fantastic memories. But now it was time to move on and set off on my first long motorbike ride in a few weeks!

I followed Google maps on the fastest route this time since I had already done the full scenic one. The nice part is you have to ride the Hai Van Pass to get to Hue, so no matter what way I went I was going to get to enjoy it again!

I wasn’t really sure where my fuel gauge was. So 30 minutes into the ride I stopped for gas to ensure I’d make it near hue without needing to fill up again!

On this new road, I passed by many large temples which I hadn’t seen before! One of which had another very large lady Buddha along with a tall pagoda!

Driving on, I made it to the Hai Van Pass for the third time! And man, my luck has been great with the weather driving this stretch of the country!

It was another beautifully clear day that made the views pop! I wasn’t planning on taking many pictures this time around since I’ve done it twice before today… but I just couldn’t help myself!

When I drove my friend Lea on the Hai Van Pass, I noticed a guard tower near the end of the road that overlooked Lang Co. I hadn’t stopped there on the first two journeys, so I decided to stop this time around!

I definitely think it was worth the stop as it led to a great view of the town below and the ocean beside it!

It also led me to have an interaction with a Vietnamese taxi driver who, after chatting with for a minute or two, wanted to take a photo with me.

I continued on after this interaction until about 30 minutes outside of Hue! I drove on the QL1A highway for the entire drive, after the Hai Van Pass, and I drove through some tunnels too before I pulled off at an abandoned gas station to rest my tired butt!

After the final leg of the journey I arrived at my hostel and who would be coincidentally just arriving back from her journeys for the day, my friend Immy!

I knew she’d be at the hostel but timing worked out that she was literally on the corner of the alley by our hostel when I got there.

After checking in we went on a nice wander through the town to find some lunch! I was really hungry after the ride.

I then grabbed a sapoche smoothie, which was okay, and we walked across the bridge to the Dong Ba market! This time it was open!

Sapoche, or sapote/sapodilla, is an egg shaped fruit that kind of looks like a potato. The smoothie honestly reminded me of the consistency of an apple going bad (the mushy texture and flavor)… not the most pleasant smoothie.

This time the Dong Ba market was actually open! And my goodness, it was huge!

There was SO many things to purchase in this market. Everything from the classic touristy items to different types of foods to toys for kids.

I realized I wanted to get a face mask for my time in Laos since the roads are apparently really dusty and I don’t think my scarf will cover it. So I asked a bunch of stands if they had it or knew which stand had it until I found a very excited older lady who knew where they were. You’ll see plenty of pictures of it to come, but it’s currently drying out from me handwashing it earlier!

I also grabbed a sweet dough ball for 5,000 Dong that was filled with coconut. I asked the lady what it was and she proceeded to pinch it open, grab the coconut and force fed me it so I felt obligated to eat it after that, but it was good!

We then walked back to the hostel where I took a nap before meeting back up with Immy to play some chess!

While sitting and playing chess, a few other hostel goers joined us and started chatting! We then all went out for dinner at a food cart just down the alley from our hostel which had tasty and cheap food!

I started with Bun Bo Hue, a dish that is local to Hue. It’s a beef and noodle soup that has a very flavorful broth! It’s a bit different from pho and, in my opinion, is a lot tastier!

The two new travelers with us are Gabor from Switzerland and Lucien from Vermont, USA! A bit later Marco from Germany joined us as well.

I was still hungry, so I ordered a chicken Banh Mi before we set off for some more wandering and chatting.

I called it a night early and parted ways from the group as I’ll be heading out early tomorrow to make sure I make it to my destination before the sun goes down!

I snagged a big KitKat from a convenience store and found a used book stand and bought a book for 50,000 Dong since I’ll be on my own a lot again and I’ve missed having a book to read!

I’m excited and nervous to head out of Vietnam! I’m excited for the new cultural experience, the new people I’ll meet, and of course the new food! But at the same time, I’m not 100% sure I’ll make it seamlessly into the Laos and I’ve heard the road conditions are a bit rough!

I won’t let the nerves hold me back though and I’ll keep chugging along and figure it out as I go! Please send all the luck and positive vibes my way for tomorrow, I’ll need them!

I’m hoping the place I’ve booked has wifi… but if not I won’t have data for a bit since I’ll be changing countries. So if there’s a gap in days, just know I’ll catch up and talk about each day still!

Talk you all real soon!

– Elie