Hai Van Pass (“the Pass of Ocean Mist”) is “a mountainous stretch of road,” explains Vietnam Coracle. “On days when vapour from the South China Sea rises into the forests and clings to the mountaintops the pass lives up to its poetic name.” But despite its “romantic title,” the Hai Van Pass has always been “something of a frontier: a boundary of kingdoms and climate, often fought over, sometimes tragic but never losing its ability to inspire awe.”
“The magical views blew us away,” says The Whole World is a Playground, “and we couldn’t believe our luck to make the journey on such a beautifully clear day.” The road “winds around 90 degree bends” with views of the East Vietnam Sea on one side “and the lush mountainous landscape on the other.” The pass is “often shrouded in cloud and the many roadside altars which lined the route were a sobering reminder of how treacherous the mountainous terrain can be in more difficult conditions.”