Hue City Abandoned Waterparks and the Hai Van Pass
Hue is located in the centre of Vietnam between Hanoi in the North and Ho Chi Minh City in the south. It is a well-visited location for Vietnamese Dynasty History as it is home to the Imperial City. More recently its history is notorious for the longest and bloodiest fight in the Vietnam War – The Battle of Hue.
For travelling, backpacking and holidaying – Hue is great for exploring the Hài Vân Pass via motorbike or hired driver & exploring Vietnams only eerily abandoned waterpark.
Travelling from the South of Vietnam to North Vietnam
The Hai Van Pass
The Hài Vân Pass is a 21km long mountain pass best navigated on motorbikes/scooters that connects the towns from Hoi An to Hue City, or vice versa. The pass sits at 500m above sea level and is the highest pass in the whole of Vietnam.
It has some incredible views and makes for some great spots to stop and get a photo along the way!
There are plenty of other transport routes to head through the pass, but to make the most out of the experience, navigating by bike is the way forward.
We were travelling from the South of Vietnam to North Vietnam – Hoi An/ Da Nang to Hue City.
Confidence is Key – Motorbikes in Vietnam
Being confident drivers and riders we opted to hire our bikes and navigate the Hai Van Pass ourselves. Two doors down from Vietnam Backpackers Hostel in Hoi An, we rented our bikes and helmets from a company within a small restaurant (odd – but they were great!).
They picked up our large rucksacks and took them to Hue, where we would meet them two days later to return the bikes and pick up our bags. All of this plus a full tank of petrol cost around 25GBP per bike.
If you are not up for navigating the Hai Van Pass yourself on a bike, below are some companies that provide a bike tour with a driver so you can experience it as a passenger.
Easyriders Vietnam
This company is known throughout Vietnam and will provide you with bikes to do the Hai Van Pass yourself, or give you a driver to take you as a passenger. This was a little bit more expensive at around 45GBP and done in one day.
http://www.easy-riders.net
IndoChina Tours
A legit company that covers you with additional insurance and stops along the way. You will be a passenger.
https://www.indochinamotorbiketours.com/tours/hoi-an-motorbike-tour-to-amazing-hai-van-pass.html
The Hài Vân Pass with no stops takes around 2 hours according to google maps. We left Da Nang and around 5 hours later reached Hue, with a few stops along the way, a huge downpour of rain where we had to stop and a quick food refuel it can take a whole day.
Heading to Hue City!
Must-Haves For Scootering Around Vietnam
1.Helmet
An obvious one I would hope. Make sure to wear it, there are big ditches and steep mountainsides along the pass and your head is not something you want bouncing off the big rocks without some protection.
2.Rain Mac
Another necessity, especially in rainy season. Invest in some of the heavy-duty rain Macs, you run the risk of looking like a colourful dementor but it saves you spending $30+ on the shitty rain Macs that break within an instant as your travel throughout Vietnam.
3.Face Mask
Air pollution is a real thing and also the amount of dirt that comes off your face after a bike ride is disgusting.
4.Glasses
If you have ever been hit square in the eye at 30MPH by a bug, you will question if you will ever be able to see again. The glasses are great protection (+ saved my eyelash extensions from getting a battering) from rain when it’s coming down at 100MPH like tiny bullets and you’re determined to keep driving.
5.Bungee Straps
Unless you have thighs of steel, keeping your bag between your legs at the front of your bike whilst driving is an unnecessary effort. Invest in some strong but cheap bungee cords and ensure your bag is kept safe. Especially if you have a passenger and having a bag on your back or front is not an option.
Things To Do In Hue
Vietnam Abandoned Waterpark
The Thuy Tien Lake, also known as Vietnam’s abandoned waterpark was the main reason for our stop in Hue City. Having seen across social media this cool place, the need for exploration and adventure within our group of backpackers meant we had to give it a visit.
Finding the general location of Thuy Tien Lake is the easy part. Type the previous or abandoned waterpark Hue in Google Maps and you will be shown the exact location.
Driving from Hue takes around 25 minutes and google maps takes you directly to the main gate. It’s obvious you are in the right place when you see the Concrete gated Thuy Thien Park sign above it, complete with its very own “security guard” sitting on a plastic chair.
Thuy Tien Lake
Getting into the waterpark is the problematic part. We knew from previous friends visits and general research that a bit of bribery would be required. We arrived at the same time as four other bikes and despite our best efforts of bribery (up to $15) the security Guard with his iron on security patch jacket, wasn’t having any of it.
Knowing when to give up/ try another supposed entrance we headed back onto the main road (see below picture for how to get to both entrances).
We came across a local on our way back to the main road, who showed us the second entrance. Just before the main entrance, there is a second road that looks like a dirt path. Drive-up here for around 400M and on your left, you will a green sign with a left-hand turn. Turn up the road and drive up the slight hill and you will be brought into a circular dirt clearing. This is where the security who can be bribed can be found.
Here in the circular clearing with the dirt path entrance to the waterpark. We paid another security guard here around 20 Vietnamese Dong each (About $1AUD 0.50GBP) and on we went.
If it has been raining I would suggest putting your best driver in charge. The roads/ cobbled paths can get really muddy and muggy. Honestly, be prepared to struggle with the bike when your wheels and mud take you sliding off in a direction you didn’t want to go.
If you are not up for driving or navigating around the park yourself; local Go Jek/Uber drivers will take you to the exact location needed to get into the park. Luckily, if you pay your driver extra, they will also drive you around the park. Without a bike, it would be a lot of walking as the park is spread out across a lot of land!
Exploring The Abandoned Waterpark
First, you come up to a colosseum style auditorium made up of crumbling graffiti-covered concrete. Inside the faded and broken seats facing an drained pool give off a Chernobyl feeling.
Up next is the kids play park, looking eerie as ever, it is not somewhere any of us were willing to try and jump across the explore.
The water is a 15+ year stagnant pool of deathly looking water. Probably home to 100’s of crocodiles or dead bodies beneath its murky depths. The water takes on a slight petroleum looking sheen to it.
With my wildest imagination running away with me, you start to begin to think so disturbing things. Like, if you dipped a toe into the water, you would be down to four as the acid slowly dissolves both your shoe and foot.
The slides are the next spot to explore. Head around the pool carefully and you can climb onto the bottom of the slides. If you follow the road around you will find the concrete staircase around the back which leads you to the top. Easily climbed up or down in dry weather you can have some fun. Wet, I wouldn’t advise for risk of sliding down the slides into the water below.
The Main Attraction
The dragon! You can see this the minute you gain entrance into the waterpark, drive up to one of the bridge entrance points, park up and make your way to the middle of the lake. I can only assume the middle of the dragon was supposed to be an aquarium of some sort.
All there is now is creepy glass fish tanks, filled with black water or smashed allowing you to see through to the other side. The layout inside is like a maze and puts you on edge of constantly being jumped out on.
The Dragon
Definitely make sure find the stairs that lead you to climb up to the dragons mouth! You really feel like you are inside the dragon because all over the ceiling, is rib-like bone skeletal structures.
At the top you come into the mouth of the dragon and have an amazing view of the whole lake. My Top Tip for Drones: there is also a secret-ish next level if you look up! In the landing by the stairs, if you look up there is an attic style hole in the ceiling. If you are good at climbing or have a strong boost, you can climb up and it brings you to the top of the dragons head.
Here is where we really wish we had a drone to make the most of the experience and get some incredible photos.
The Thuy Tien Lake can take around 2-3 hours to explore. The route to and from the lake has some amazing temples and world heritage sights you can make the most of and explore too. The entrance tickets can cost anywhere from $10 per single entrance or up to $30 for entrance into three or four of the temples.
Visit Hue!
Overall, Hue City is a great place to stop when travelling to Vietnam. It is a focal point with the DMZ (De-Militarized Zone) and has a great nightlife with your DMZ Bar and Vietnam Backpacker Hostel right opposite each other.
There’s plenty of hostels to stay at, just make sure to compare on booking.com and Hostel world for your best deals. The only downside is the weather. Make sure to invest in a heavy-duty poncho because it is very likely to rain September – Jan!
