Our stay at the Saigon Morin Hotel in Hue

A visit to the historical city of Hue would best be complemented with a stay in one of the top 5 best historic hotel in the city. 

Saigon Morin hotel was built in 1902.  It was known as the Grand Hotel de Hue during the French colonial era. The hotel rapidly became the centre of commerce, culture and tourism in Hue city under Nguyen Dynasty.

The hotel survived the wars.  It was massively renovated and reopened in 1997 as the Saigon Morin Hotel. With 180 guest rooms, 4 restaurants and recreations, this colonial style hotel is one of better hotels to stay when visiting Hue.

The hotel’s location was a key element of its success, then and now. The hotel was situated at the centre of Hue city, facing to Perfume (Huong) River and Truong Tien Bridge. It took only a short walk to the public buildings, leisure centres, sport clubs and banks in those days. Now it is only a short walk to key attractions like the Citadel, Dong Ba Market, shopping places, restaurants, pubs and cafes.

We arrived at the hotel at 1 PM and the check in process was fast and comfortably done on the hotel’s sofa in the lobby with cold drinks served to us. I was glad that we could do an early check-in, so we could freshen ourselves before our 2 PM Citadel walking tour.

We had booked a Double Room with River View and were assigned to Room 110. As we walked to our room, via the semi-open veranda overlooking a center courtyard, we found that a very famous person stayed in Room 111 back in 1936.

Guess who that celebrity is. Answer at the end of this post.

 

Double Room with River View at the Saigon Morin Hotel in Hue

Our room was quite spacious and faces the Perfume River and Truong Tien Bridge. A “River View” room does not mean that we could actually see the Perfume River, since there were plenty of trees along Le Loi Road blocking the view of the river.

Instead, we had a good view of the cross junction leading to the Truong Tien Bridge. The double glazed windows ensured that the room remained quiet despite being close to the road. It was quite entertaining, watching the crazy Vietnamese road traffic below.

Breakfast buffet at the Morin was served outdoor, in the garden at the center of the hotel.

Shaded by a 100 year old Indian almond tree, it provided a peaceful and tranquil environment to sample some of Hue’s signature cuisine as well as the traditional breakfast spread.

Obviously, we focused on enjoying the best local cuisine that Hue has to offer.

Hue’s signature rice noodle soup (Bun Bu Hue) with sliced beef and tasty broth made from hours of simmering chunks of pork leg.

A must try in Hue is the Bun Bo Hue. This rice noodle soup is different from the traditional Vietnamese rice noodle soup called Pho. It is slightly spicy and the broth is made from pig hocks, instead of beef bones. One bowl was not enough for me! I went for double servings of this delicious noodle soup.

For me who is wary about the cleanliness of street food in Vietnam, the hotel’s breakfast buffet was an excellent opportunity to sample them. 

Traditional street food of Hue. Banh Uot (Top Left), Banh Loc – Filtered Tapioca Dumplings (Top right) and Banh Beo – Steamed Rice Discs Topped with Shrimp (Bottom).

We tried the following:

Banh Uot or Wet Banh. The thick, opaque skin is made of water and finely ground rice flour and filled with chopped dried and fresh shrimps. Quite delicious on its own but better with some fish sauce or peanut sauce.

Banh Loc or filtered tapioca dumplings. This appetizer is a small, clear-looking, chewy tapioca dumpling that is filled with shrimp and pork belly and topped with chopped spring onions.

Banh Beo or steamed rice pudding in small bowls, topped with chopped dried and fresh shrimp and chopped scallions. Some may include mung bean paste and crispy fried shallot. This food comes with a sauce that is made of fish sauce, rice vinegar and oil.  This was my favourite of the three “banh”.

One could not stay at a historic hotel without taking a walk around the premises to appreciate the architecture and design. I enjoyed looking at the old photographs that was displayed. Some showed celebrities and royalties that were past guests or visitors.

Saigon Morin Hotel was known as the Grand Hotel de Hue back in 1938.

Others showed the fighting that took place just outside the hotel during the Vietnam War. The longest, bloodiest battle of the Tet Offensive was the Battle of Hue in 1968 where most buildings in Hue City were destroyed. It was good that not everything in Hue was destroyed, like this hotel.

Photos of barbed wire obstacle and a machine gun post just outside the Morin Hotel during the Battle of Hue in 1968. Located right next to the Truong Tien Bridge to cross the Perfume River, this must have been a strategic location to defend.

An evening walk by the Perfume River, just across from the hotel, is recommended before hitting the restaurants or pubs after dark. There are plenty to choose from around the hotel such as the DMZ bar along Le Loi Street or even a “floating” restaurant on the banks on the river.

Truong Tien Bridge is a good place to see the sun set across the Perfume River.

A “floating” restaurant on the banks of the Perfume River.

The popular DMZ bar along Le Loi Road, near the hotel.

We went to the quieter Hue Spring Restaurant, next to DMZ bar. We ordered the Nem Lui (Grilled Ground Pork on Stick) and Banh Cuon (Vietnamese Steamed Rice Rolls).

Nem Lui – Grilled Ground Pork on Lemon Grass Stick

The Nem Lui is one of the most famous foods in Hue and it was worth trying this grilled ground pork on lemon grass stick. 

Banh Cuon – Steamed rice rolls with slices of prawn, pork and vegetables and special sauce.

Overall, we had an enjoyable 2 nights stay at the Saigon Morin Hotel. You can check latest prices and availability for this hotel when planning a trip to Hue.

Alternatively, you can also consider the La Residence Hotel which is another excellent, historic, colonial-style hotel. It is also located next to the Perfume River and further down along Le Loi Road.

Answer to the Question: Who was the celebrity that stayed in Room 111 at the Saigon Morin Hotel in 1936?

Charlie Chaplin was one of the greatest and widely loved movie stars in the era of the silent movie. Charlie Chaplin and his wife stayed in this hotel for their honeymoon.

We managed to have a sneak peek inside this suite on our last day. I am not sure if the furnishings were from 1936. Probably not.

This is the sitting area of Charlie Chaplin’s honeymoon suite at the Saigon Morin Hotel.

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Scenic road trip from Hue to Hoi An, via Hai Van Pass, Da Nang and Marble Mountains

27 September 2017 

The best way to travel between Hue and Hoi An is to hire a private car with a driver for a day to take us through peaceful rural landscapes, scenic coastal route across the Hai Van Pass and make sightseeing stops along the way. The 128 km journey between the two UNESCO World Heritage cities would take about 3 hours of driving, excluding stops. With stops for lunch, sightseeing and taking photographs along the way, we could depart one city in the morning and arrive at our destination city in the evening. Perfect!

Travelling through rural Vietnam in a car, we got to see scenes that city-dwellers may find interesting. We even chanced upon a herd of cows hogging the narrow country road.

A herd of cows on the country road, as seen from inside our SUV. 80% of Vietnamese are Buddhists or Taoists. It is a common practice of the locals to place a small statue of the Goddess of Mercy on top of the dashboard, facing the front. (Lower right corner of the photo above).

Flooded rice paddies just outside Hue city.

There were many private car companies and tour operators offering such services at competitive prices. After comparing reviews of these operators on the internet, I booked my trip from Tour From Hue – Family Car Transfers & Tours before leaving home.

Most tour operators’ itineraries include suggested stops at My Khe Beach in Da Nang, Marble Mountains, Lang Co beach, Lap An lagoon, top of Hai Van Pass or even an optional stop (with additional fees payable) at a swimming place called the Elephant Springs. I requested for an additional stop at the famous tiled-roofed Thanh Toan Bridge, located 8 km east of Hue city. Tour From Hue – Family Car Transfers & Tours was happy to include that into our itinerary without additional charges.

Our English speaking driver met us 15 minutes before 9 AM at the lobby of the Saigon Morin Hotel in Hue and waited patiently while we did our check-out. After helping to load our luggage into his clean and spacious Toyota Innova SUV, we were on our way from Hue to Hoi An, with planned stops at Thanh Toan Bridge, Lang Co beach, Lap An lagoon, Hai Van Pass and Marble Mountains.

Thanh Toan Bridge

The Thanh Toan Bridge is a 17 meter long and 4 meter wide wooden bridge built across an irrigation canal bringing water to the rice paddy fields around Thanh Toan village. It was impressive and covered with ceramic roof tiles. It is one of the few bridges with this unique design still found in Vietnam, another being the Japanese Bridge located in the Hoi An ancient town, our final destination for this day.

Thanh Toan Bridge.

An informational plaque at the bridge indicated that this ancient bridge was constructed in 1776 with funding provided by Ms Tran Thi Dao, the wife of a high ranking mandarin. The small shrine in the middle span of this bridge was to honour her.

We sat on the sloping wooden benches on the arched bridge and did some people watching. This beautiful bridge is popular with tourists and locals. We spotted a local couple and their photographer doing their wedding photo shoot. Some villagers were even napping on the benches while others were busy in the local village market about 100 meters away. A walk around the village offered some good photo opportunities of life in rural Vietnam.

Villagers in the traditional conical hat having a chat.

 

Another view of the Thanh Toan Bridge. It is amazing that the wooden structure had stood in water for hundreds of years.

Lap An lagoon and Lang Co beach

From Thanh Toan village, we continued along the highway to a fishing village next to the Lap An lagoon. Our driver told us that the many wooden stakes seen protruding out of the water in this lagoon are used for oysters farming. Recycled rubber tyres from bicycles, motorbikes and cars were hung from these poles for oysters to grow. The farmers used rubber tyres as oyster beds as it takes longer for rubber to erode or rot compared to using wood.

After harvesting, the oyster shells coated tyres are collected, strewn on the roads for vehicles to run over, thereby crushing away the unwanted shells and the tyres could be reused for oyster growing again.

Recycled rubber tyres used for oyster farming strewn on the roadside, by Lap An lagoon. The white patches on the tyres are residual oyster shells.

The views of the mountains and lagoon were stunningly beautiful.

Wooden fishing boats or sampans at Lap An lagoon. It is traditional in South East Asia to paint “eyes” at the front of boats.

We were actually on a narrow isthmus with Lap An lagoon on one side and the East Vietnam Sea on the other side. Our driver drove us across the isthmus to the Thanh Tam Resort, on the coast of the East Vietnam Sea where we had a chance to walk on the fine white sands of Lang Co beach.

There was no one but us on this beach. It was too hot to be out on the beach, under the late morning sun, for more than a few minutes. This place would be nicer in the early morning or late evening.

Lang Co Beach. The Hai Van Pass is across the Truong Son Mountains with the clouds in the background. “Hai Van Pass” is translated to mean “Ocean Cloud Pass”. Hai Van Pass probably gets this name as the peak of the mountain is mostly covered in clouds while its foot is close to the sea.

A good place to have lunch along our road trip is at the Be Than Restaurant, a “floating” restaurant sitting on the shores of Lap An lagoon. We invited our driver to sit with us for lunch but he preferred to give us some privacy. We enjoyed the fresh seafood at reasonable prices, coupled with natural cool breezes and views.

A “floating” restaurant on the Lap An lagoon serving good seafood.

Delicious seafood lunch (grilled squid and prawns fried with tamarind sauce) with nice scenic views.

 

Hai Van Pass

Once lunch is done, we travelled up the famous Hai Van Pass. This was our second time travelling up this pass within a week. We came here earlier with a tour organised by Banyan Tree Lang Co. 

Hai Van Pass is situated along the Hai Van mountainside between Hue and Da Nang. With a height of 500m above sea level, and a length of 21km, this is the highest and longest pass in Vietnam.  It crosses over a spur of the Truong Son mountain range that juts out into the sea and serves as a geological and geographical dividing line. It forms a physical boundary between the north and the south of Vietnam, and has been considered an important strategic frontier post along the north-south road in the past.

Although a tunnel now cuts through the same mountain offering a shorter travelling time, going across the mountain via the scenic Hai Van Pass is more fun for tourists.

Top of Hai Van Pass.

Once again, we made a stop at the top of the pass.

Once again, we went to see the Hai Van Gate, built in 1826, during the reign of Emperor Minh Mang, the old war bunkers and the views of Lang Co beach to the north and Da Nang city to the south.

Old war bunkers built during the Vietnam War at the top of Hai Van Pass.

Building with wall full of bullet holes at the top of the Hai Van Pass.

This time round, I went inside one of the bunkers to imagine what it was like to be a soldier during the war, peeking out of the openings of the pillbox.

View from inside the pillbox.

Quite a lot of motorbikes were seen at the top of the Hai Van Pass, with riders taking a coffee break at some of the many roadside stalls. Riding up and down the sides of the mountain along the winding Hai Van Pass on a motor-bike is a popular activity for the more adventurous tourists. Especially after this journey was featured in an episode of the TV show, Top Gear.

Another reason could be that motorbikes are not allowed to be ridden through the tunnel as the air quality in the tunnel is considered harmful. Our driver told us that there are services to bring motorbikes through the tunnel on a truck, while the riders take a shuttle bus to the other side. For a small fee.

Unlike the last visit where we backtracked down northwards to return to Banyan Tree Lang Co, we continued down south towards Da Nang city. In Da Nang city, we drove across the Dragon Bridge and drove pass My Khe Beach on the way to Marble Mountains. My Khe Beach was used by US troops for rest and relaxation during the Vietnam War and hence, it is also known as R&R beach. Compared to secluded Lang Co Beach, R&R beach is more happening since it is closer to the city.

Marble Mountains

The Marble Mountains was our last and longest stop for the day before we arrived at Hoi An. The Marble Mountains is a cluster of five hills made from limestone and marble and is located at the outskirt of Da Nang city on the way to Hoi An. The five hills are named after the five elements of the ancient oriental philosophy: metal, wood, water, fire and earth.

Our driver brought us to Thuy Son (Water Mountain) and gave us directions to the ticket booth selling entry tickets and also tickets to take the elevator up to the top. For those who do not wish to take the elevator, there are 150 steep stone steps to ascend.

It cost 40,000 VND per person for the entry ticket and 15,000 VND for a one way elevator ride up.

Tip: Take the elevator to save energy that you need later explore the place.
 

View of the other hills of the Marble Mountains as seen from Thuy Son (Water Mountain) just outside the elevator.

We could see the amazing views of the other hills sticking out from the flat landscape. 

It is a good idea to snap a photo of the sign showing the layout of Thuy Son on our smartphone for reference since there are many caves and temples to visit within Thuy Son.

Layout of the Thuy Son or Water Mountain showing the locations of the various caves and temples. Just follow the numbers indicated on the map so as not to miss any. We actually missed seeing No 15. The Am Puc Cave.

Xa Loi Tower at the Marble Mountain.

Temple at the top of Thuy Son, Marble Mountain.

 

Statue of Goddess of Mercy.

Tang Chon Cave

 

Beautiful sculptured wall showing dragons along passageway leading to the Tang Chon Cave.

 

Narrow entrance to the Tang Chon Cave.

I went “Wow” once I passed through the narrow entrance into Tang Chon Cave. The natural lighting from above, figurines, structures and vegetation with vines hanging down from the roof made this place pretty cool to visit.

This was the first time that I had been to a place like this. My mind recalled scenes from Indiana Jones movies but thankfully, there are no booby traps in this holy place.

Place for worship inside Tang Chon Cave.

Small temple within the Tang Chon Cave.

White marble chess players inside Tang Chon Cave, highlighted by natural light streaming in through gaps in the cave roof.

Leaving the Tang Chon Cave, I was looking forward to visiting the next cave, wondering what surprises the next cave would offer.

Van Thong Cave

Van Thong Cave was next. By now, I was perspiring from the physical exertions in the humid Vietnamese weather.

Entrance to Van Thong Cave.

There was a colourful figure of a Buddha inside the dark Van Thong cave. The statue looked quite modern and was lit with electric lamps.

What was more interesting to me was at the back of this cave. Steps led to a bigger cavern lit with sun light coming through a natural hole or skylight at the top of the cave.

The 3 Chinese words on the wall is the name of the cave – Van Thong Cave (“Way to Heaven” Cave).

Inscription on the wall of the Van Thong cave that looked pretty ancient.

There is a narrow, almost vertical passageway that leads to the top of the hill at the back of this cave. Some people turned back at this point as the passageway up looked quite slippery and dangerous.

I had read about this passageway before my visit and this was something I was prepared to try climbing up this passageway. There was some prepared foot and hand holds, so it was not as dangerous as it seemed to be.

Scrambling through the narrow, almost vertical passageway that leads to the top of the mountain. Literally a “way to heaven” if I slip and fall on the slippery marble surfaces.

Arriving at the peak, we were rewarded with great views of Da Nang and the surrounding areas.  This lookout point is quite small in area, covered with sharp rocks and could accommodate only a few people at a time. There were seven of us there at that time. One chap who made it up the passageway was actually wearing sandals!

Fortunately, we could descend from the peak using another route with stairs. I could not imagine how we could have return back down to Van Thong Cave using the way we came. 

Once we descended from the top of the Van Thong Cave, also known as Heaven’s Gate, there was a small rest area with stalls selling refreshments and souvenirs.

The public toilets were also located nearby. I went to use the toilets and was quite surprised at how clean it was. I had to remove my shoes, put on a pair of provided sandals before going in. Japanese style!

Hoa Nghiem and Huyen Khong Caves

The Hoa Nghiem Cave and Huyen Khong Cave are interconnected. We entered the caves through a gate, with design similar to those we saw at Hue’s Imperial City.

First up was the Hoa Nghiem Cave, with a statue of the Lady Buddha that is a few hundred years old.

Hoa Nghiem Cave with the statue of Lady Buddha.

Behind the Lady Buddha is a passageway that led down into the enormous Huyen Khong Cave. Some natural light were coming in from holes at the top of this cave. The best time to visit would be near noon, when the sunlight would be the brightest. It was about 3 PM when we arrived at this cave, so it was not very brightly lit.

Huyen Khong Cave with many altars and temples inside.

A huge marble Buddha sits, high up against the marble wall, facing the entrance.

Stone stairs leading down into the Huyen Khong Cave with fierce looking deities, sitting on cute looking tigers, on each side.

“Cartoony" tigers with the deity on its back.

Attendant preparing offerings for prayer session.

 

Colourful paper horses in front of an altar. I guess these paper horses would be burned as offerings after the prayers.

Linh Nham Cave

After seeing the Huyen Khong Cave, the smaller Linh Nham Cave seemed less interesting.

Passage leading into the Linh Nham Cave.

After seeing the Linh Nham Cave, we followed the signs indicating the exit and took the stairs down from the Thuy Son or Water Mountain.

The steps were steep! And there are 150 steps. It may be better to buy another ticket to take the elevator down at the entrance to reduce wear and tear on our aging knees.

Overall, we spent about 1.5 hours exploring the Water Mountain. The Marble Mountains is a truly amazing place easily accessible from either Da Nang or Hoi An. 

From the Marble Mountain, our driver took us to Tea Garden Homestay, our accommodation in Hoi An for the next 4 nights.  This relatively low cost, family operated guesthouse is located close to the Hoi An Ancient Town and is perfect for exploring this historic town on foot.

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