Day 19: Scenic ride over the Cloud Pass

The next morning, we got up early and went straight to breakfast. After that, we packed our backpacks and checked out in the lobby, where our scooter rental company greeted us. Our destination for the day was to ride from Hue to Hoi An, about 125 km away. First, we made a stop at an abandoned water park near Hue. The whole area can be imagined as a ruin with broken windows, colorful graffiti, and trash. The buildings and slides were mostly swallowed by the jungle, and we had to sneak through the overgrown corridors. From the abandoned place, we continued south. We rode past many small villages, green rice fields, and forests. Finally, we made a stop at the beach and had lunch right by the sea. After a short rest, we hopped back on our scooter and embarked on the most beautiful stretch of our little journey, the ride over the Cloud Pass. This small "mountain" is probably one of the most beautiful weather divides in Vietnam. To climb the mountain, we drove up the narrow serpentine roads. Suddenly, we had to fight through dense fog and could hardly see anything. But as soon as we drove another 20 meters after the summit, the bright sun hit us out of nowhere. It was truly a breathtaking sight. We stopped briefly, took some pictures, and enjoyed the beautiful view of the valley and the sea. Right at the foot of the pass was Da Nang, the fourth largest city in Vietnam. From there, it wasn't far to Hoi An. When we arrived at our accommodation at 6:30 p.m., we were noticeably exhausted from the hours-long ride, but we still had to pick up our big backpacks at the scooter rental company in the city, which were transported by car while we were on the scooter. At the end of the day, we had some fruit in our accommodation and then fell asleep.