Are you wondering if there are other ways to cross the border from Cambodia to Vietnam besides the one that reaches the city of Ho Chi Minh?
If the answer is yes, well then this is the right article for you!
 
After travelling for a month in Cambodia, I decide to spend my last week in the north-east part, in the province of Mondulkiri and Ratanakiri (https://www.marsontheroad.com/en/destinazioni/95/mondulkiri-e-ratanakiri-le-due-perle).
Being very far from Ho Chi Minh I try to read on the web if there are ways to cross the border from the north. Unfortunately, I do not get any results. Then I consult the Lonely Planet and here I find some information but I'm still not completely satisfied. So, once in Ratanakiri, I ask the owner of the accommodation who tells me that every day a bus leaves at 7 am and goes to the city of Pleiku (Vietnam). He tells me that a few years ago they had to get to the border with a minivan and then change buses because Cambodia vehicles were not allowed to cross the border.
Fortunately, things have changed and evolved for the better. For only $ 10, therefore, the owner takes me to the bus station in the morning at 6:30 am. I leave at 7 am and after about 1 hour I arrive at the Cambodia border. I get the exit stamp and after 10 minutes I get off the bus because I arrive at the entrance of Vietnam. Here I receive 15 days of free admission (I remind those who do not know that for Italian, English, French, German and Spanish citizens there is a free admission for 15 days, you can enter again after 30 days have passed since the last exit This type of entry was extended until 30 June 2018).
 
I reach Pleiku at 10:30 am. I ask around where I can find a bus station but nobody knows anything. So I'm forced to take a motorcycle taxi that for 25,000 dongs or less than 1 € (1 € = 27,000 dong) takes me to the station. Here I find the only bus that leaves for Huế at 6 pm. So I have to wait 7 hours.
Finally, the bus arrives at 6 pm (paid 220,000 dong - 11 hours of travel); it's a sleeping bus so very comfortable and I cannot wait to sleep.
Arrival at Huế at 4 in the morning. I take a taxi and head to the booked hostel: Snooze Hostel (price 86,000 dong - about 3 €).
The room is very spacious and the beds are comfortable but there is no common room and the reception is not the best. I did not really like it but I slept very well. Moreover, there is also breakfast included, so for that price, it is not bad at all!
 
I do not waste time and after having breakfast I start to visit Huế.
Hue is a city in central Vietnam that was the seat of the emperors of the Nguyễn dynasty from 1802 to 1945 and the capital of the Annam protectorate. One of the major attractions is its vast 19th-century Citadel, surrounded by a moat and thick stone walls, which include: the imperial city with palaces and sanctuaries, the Forbidden City of the purple once home to the emperor, and a replica of the Royal Theater. The city was also a battlefield for the Battle of Huế, which was one of the longest and bloodiest battles of the Vietnam war (entrance to the Citadel: 150,000 dong -5.50 €).
 
After spending a few hours exploring the Citadel, I decide to visit the central market. Here are many sellers who try to sell you the impossible. I then walk along the river and have dinner at the restaurant "Allez Boo" where I eat spring rolls and a local soup for a total of 60,000 dongs or just over 2 €. Very good quality of food.
 
I decide to spend only one day in Hue because I only have 15 days of visa and I prefer to explore as much as possible. Moreover, Hue did not particularly impress me, but if you have time and if you are passionate about history, then it deserves a quick stop.