Merry Xmas and the Way Back to Hue

Merry Xmas to everyone and I hope you're enjoying your holidays!

Mine are coming to an end and it's time to head back to Hue.

After a stopover in Saigon, I arrived in Da Nang at around 19:00 and set off on my bike for the drive back to Hue.

Back to Hue

My short trip to Kuala Lumpur came to an end and I returned to Da Nang around midday from where I took my motorbike to drive back to Hue.

While having the Olympur TG-4 and the case to attach it to my backpack, I tried out the interval mode and see how it would fare as a GoPro while driving.

Most photos didn't turn out that great and I need to figure out the best settings and make sure I actually check where the camera points before setting off.

Still, it's done a good job where I set it out find and provided some interesting photos.

Rainy Drive to Da Nang

A rain soaked and cold drive from Hue to Da Nang still provided for some nice photographic opportunities and was still fun.

Back in Vietnam

After a long journey but a nice one, I've arrived in Da Nang last night. The city has changed quite a bit since my last visit but this is a good thing and why I'm back in Vietnam.

Still, as nice as Da Nang is, my destination was Hue so after having coffee and taking it a bit easy in the morning it was time to get back on the motorbike and drive to Hue.

It's great to have a motorbike (or moped/scooter for people who want to be precise) as it means a lot of freedom here and makes getting around so much more pleasant.

Day 173 - Clouds

The day was a bit overcast but the clouds added a nice contrast to the landscape photos. It was time to head back to Hue and New Years party in the afternoon.

Since I had enough time to go from go from Danang to Hue, I took it easy and enjoyed the views.

Since I have done this route a few times now, I didn't take too many photos but tried to always make the clouds the main feature.

I always try to find a different route or nice detour on the way between Hue and Danang so this time  drove around the lake in Lang Co to get a change.

There are only possible ways to take so it will become more challenging if I do this route in the future again.

Day 172 - Colors of Hoi An and Citiscapes of Danang

Woke up to another great and sunny day so after having breakfast and coffee, it was time for a stroll around Hoi An before heading to Danang.

While Hoi An is also very nice by day, it is not as impressive as in the evening with all the lanterns illuminated.
I took some photos of people but for the selection focused on colors only.

After a leisurely ride to Danang and having more coffee and lunch by the river, I went to the Cho Con market to look around and take some photos.

But what I actually wanted to take photos of in Danang was the cityscape and the Dragon bridge at night. Last time I stayed in Danang, I meet friends in the evening and did not have time or photography.

This time round I had enough time to walk around and take some long exposure photos of the city at dusk and in the evening.
Danang is very nice and feels a bit like Hong Kong in the evening with all the buildings illuminated and the lights of the bridges changing.
At 21:00 you even get a fire and show at the Dragon bridge but I only caught the end to photograph since my battery died  and I needed to charge it. It was good that the Sony charges over micro USB.

Day 162 - To Danang and Back Again

Since my visa for Vietnam i about to expire, I asked around and got told to go to Danang to the immigration office and renew it there. Lucky for me it was not raining so I set off in the morning for the 90 km ride to Danang.

I arrived in Danang jut after the immigration office closed for lunch, government officials all over the world needs their long lunch breaks. Since I had 2 hours to spend, I went to take some photos around the market and also check out a camera shop.

The market itself is like all the other clothes markets in Hanoi, Hue and most other major cities but the  more interesting part is outside around the market for the fruit and food sellers.

After visiting the market, I went to the camera shop where I decided to order the Sony NEX-3N camera because it was almost 4 million VND (or $200) cheaper than the RX100 and I am keen on using my Nokton 35mm f1.2 M lens on it. I should receive it in the next day or two. Until then it will be using my Nexus 5 phone for photos.

The trip to the immigration department there turned out to be wasted as they refused to process any application from me and said I need to go through a travel agent or hotel. Well, the trip to Danang was at least nice.
Now I will just have to send my passport to Hanoi and get a new visa before having to go to Hanoi myself and get a new passport since mine will be full after I get another full page visa sticker.

On the way back, I tried to avoid using the QL1A road and used Google to find an alternative route. Google did indeed find an alternative using the QL45 road but this road does not actually exist as shown on Google and all I got was a detour before ending up back on the QL1A road. It was a nice detour admittedly but a detour nonetheless.