Mua vs. Mu'a

So one means "Buy" and the other means "Rain" but both sound exactly the same, kinda their version of Fax and Facts.  When put in front of the word "Tomorrow" we understood that we couldnt get a train ticket the next day because of "rain", as in there was a storm coming in and the trains wouldnt be running,  when in fact the friendly ticket agent was saying 'buy tomorrow'.  So that was what preceeded our 12 hour train journey from Ninh Binh to Hue on some good ol' fashion wooden benches and the understanding that we wouldnt be able to be on a train the next day.  Both Lannie and I agreed that the bike is a much more comfortable means of transport. 
Hue is a town of approx. 75,000 people, lots of artisans, a Citadel fashioned after the Chinese Forbidden City and the left overs of French occupation in the architecture and streets.......................and the rain.  I read in a book that the best times to visit Hue are either July to October or December to February, we understand now why as the rain never really let up except for a late night bike ride through the Old French Quarter. 
Lannie has some photos of the old quarter up and do it some justice but its never quite the same.  
We stayed for two comfortable days and caught up on laundry, eating and shopping before heading south on the nuimber 1 highway through to Danang. 
The ride was good and the rain stopped for the 108 km ride from Hue to Danang which was great.  After a few warm up hills we started our climb over the Hai Van pass [~496 metres] with some of the most impressive coastal views I've ever seen.  The trucks heading south have a different road to use so the only other people we saw were those on scooters or in cars with the rare hog truck or tour bus coming through. 
The climbing was a tough slog but with enough breaks and water it seemed to go by quick enough.  It is by far one of the most enjoyable rides that I've done on my bike as we felt fairly isolated and able to enjoy the sights and silence of the ride especially after spending time in some very busy cities.  We stopped at the first point where we could see the ocean and just watched swells come in  that may have been around 6 feet, one after another.  Towards the top there was a Buddhist shrine with some offerings of cigarettes, fruit, money and flowers among the burning insense that Lannie lit.  It seemed like an appropriate place for a shrine I thought.   At the top of the pass there was a cafe selling Ca Phe, vietnamese coffee, and women from the local area selling beads and necklaces for goodluck  I should have bought a necklace for good luck.  Timing is a funny thing.  Almost at the bottom I ended up getting a flat so pulled over to the truck stop and both Lannie and I were shocked to say the least for what we saw.  On the way to the pass there were some ladies selling birds/chickens with their feathers removed on the side of the road, kinda the Vietnamese version of drive-through fast food, but that was pretty tame in comparison to the divying up of a hog that had just been taken off the truck.  We werent sure how the pig ended up where it did or why so many people knew about it but people kept showing up and an argument would break out, there would be some discussion, some arms crossed, some pointing and then an agreement on who was getting which part.  In my best Vietnamese I asked one of the men "Mua?" as in 'to buy' and he nodded.  So the word got out that some people had come into some 'hog' [literally off the back of a truck] and if you wanted to get some fresh pig you just had to drive up the mountain to the little truck stop. 
It was quite the end to the ride and definitely surpassed anything that I'd seen before as far as 'interesting cultural experience'.   The rest of the ride was great and flat and the rain held off for the rest of the evening as we wandered off to find some food.  It was definitely a great way to see the coastline and to meet some local people on the way through.  Lannie and I are now in Hoi An and attempting to dry off as much as possible but we think we found a place that gets more rain that Vancouver.  Hoping for sunnier skies...................