February 2, 2017

We started our day with meusli and milo. We left the hotel at 8:30 under grey skies again. We thought this was the dry season! We had two choices of route today, 93/95 kms or 100kms. The 100 km route was on the A1 and we would cross the 17^th parallel and see the area that the Americans were trying to protect. The other route was along the coast.

We had decided to take the shorter route, but something went wrong in the execution. We made a wrong turn in the village and found ourselves heading for the A1.

The monument at the 17^th parallel was interesting. We saw more monuments to the war today than we had seen on other days.

I think because this area saw a lot of fighting. We passed a cemetery that was full of war graves.

The weather threatened rain all day and we had a couple of little showers, but we managed to stay dry for most of the ride. However, we did have a headwind for most of the day. At the 35 km mark, Ralf took the lead and dragged me all the way to Hue.

The usual sightings on the A1, a herd of cows being moved.

A nice truck, only needs a couple of new tires.

A row of rail cars, what is missing from the cars – if you have been to North America all of our rail cars have graffiti on them.

As we arrived on the outskirts of Hue, we spotted this vehicle, which we think is a funeral hearse.

We arrived in Hue at about 3:30, very tired and hungry. Ralf and garmin found the hotel very easily. After check-in we headed next door to a little restaurant that served pizza and risotto and sandwiches, it was quick and satisfying.

We came back and showered and relaxed for a couple of hours. At 6:30 we headed out for dinner and found a nice restaurant on the main street.

The hotel is called The Friendly Hotel in the room is a history of the family and the owner. He remembers growing up during the war and seeing the fragility of life. He knew he had to study hard to get himself out of poverty. He bought a piece of land and built at 10 room hotel on the site. After a few years he expanded it to 30 rooms, the size it is now. His philosophy is good customer service for the lowest price. He has also implemented a program called Tea and Talk. This is to assist Vietnamese students in Hue particular the poorer students to sit and talk to English speakers so that they can practice their English skills.

“If you determine your life’s objective, fan the flames of passion for work in whatever field it is, work wholeheartedly then you can achieve success; simultaneously, if you can make something beneficial to the society, you will experience a happier and more meaningful life.” Mr.Nguyen Xuan Thuy