Hue is a town of much cultural importance, while not as pretty as Hoi An. Half way up the long lanky country that is Vietnam, it is for many a huge jump to or from Hanoi, as there many seem to feel there is little to do in between. This is probably incorrect, but we have made it our last call of South Vietnam. It is an ancient and cultural capital of Vietnam. The place of the Emperors and their tombs. Hanoi is the current post-independence capital and Saigon the colonial capital, from where the French governed.
We started our investigation proper of Hue on 14th September, and day 164, with a visit to the Citadel. We missed out on China, and therefore the Forbidden City in Beijng. This Citadel, which housed a Vietnamese Emperor or two, was a good a substitute as possible. The cost was a hefty $3.80 per person, but inside it is quite large. Maybe a plus for us was, the place wasn't crowded at all and many a time we had one of the copious temples just to ourselves. The gardens so tranquil and the moats and lakes filled with flowers. A map of sorts, was on the ticket we purchased, but we largely just wandered. The Citadel possibly dominates the shape of Hue, or at least that side of the river. When we looked at the map in the guidebook, the organised streets and canals, looked like modern town planning, but are in fact quite old. As always I've left a few links to Hue and the Citadel in case there is interest in the history and details.
Day 165 we booked ourselves on a boat trip on The Perfume River. The wide river divides Hue between the Citadel and the part of the city where most of us stay. The day of the trip didn't start well, and the problems originated from the night before. As always a 6am alarm, means a good nights sleep is sought, but as you really need sleep, it's hard to get it. This was further frustrated as Sarah and I had an air conditioning disagreement. She was too cold and me too hot. I didn't sleep at all well, and neither did Sarah. When we woke at 6am, the rain outside was hammering down, Vietnam style. Both of us voiced wanting to cancel. Being on a boat in this rain was a further drain on enthusiasm, to the lack of sleep. The lady on reception, offered us the same trip on the bus. This may seemed better, but to be honest the boat trip was all I wanted. The tombs and temples on the way, well I've seen so many tombs, temples and old shit. We asked to postpone to tomorrow, but apparently is was going to rain all week like this. We went ahead with the trip.
On the way we allied ourselves with an incredible French guy from Bordeaux. His English was better than my French (it always is) however it wasn't the best and I really got to practise my French as we alternated our languages to be understood. I think we were happy to practise off each other. On the boat he showed us pictures of Halong Bay, the penultimate stop on our Vietnamese adventure. He got a one day tour on a boat for $100 from Hanoi to Halong Bay and back again. We first thought it too expensive, but then he showed us the pictures. It coloured our decision later and we booked a 2 days tour of Halong Bay for $105 each on a luxury boat and a luxury bungalow apartment on Halong Bay for next week. I really enjoyed Nicolae tagging along with us. Such a ladies man, and I know Sarah had a little crush. His photos on the cruise of Halong, which included a couple of girls on his bed, made me admire this fun loving, easy going solo travelling Gaul. His Gallic shrugs, every 10 minutes, gave me a little of a man crush also to be honest. I forgot to ask his email, and he is going in the opposite direction to us. Like ships in the night.
The guidebooks will say the trip along the Perfume River is a must. It really is not. Not as much as a must as The Mekong Delta for example. I'm not sure why it's called Perfume, not because of the smell. It doesn't smell bad, or smell at all. I would just assume there would be a smell, due to the name. It's just a muddy river which passes some nice countryside, but just as frequently ducks under an ugly concrete fabricated bridge. Then again, we got the trip on a gloomy and rainy day. Maybe on a bright day, a much better experience is to be had. Then again, almost everything looks good in the sun.
The itinerary of the boat trip included a Garden Palace, a temple and three tombs of Emperors. The guide gave us some facts about the Emperors have 100s of wive, and concubines. A little like Tiger Woods I suppose. Again I'm going to be lazy and guide you to the links, should you be interested in the details of visiting them. This blog may be running out of momentum, as I'm getting a little disinterested in palaces and tombs. In any case those who know me, know modern history is my passion and I will listen attentively to a guide speaking on anything from the 20th Century onwards, but the I find myself challenged to pay attention to ancient temples, but I do try honest.
The three tombs we visited at $3.80 each were the tombs of Emperors Tu Doc, Ming Mang and Khai Dinh. They were all very tranquil places to visit, and wander. Many featuring Chinese looking stilt houses over water lily covered lakes. My indifference here is a reflection of travel fatigue, and the weather on the day, and not to take anything away from the tombs. It is also nice to see what a huge ancient and traditional culture Vietnam has, and that there is so much more to it than the 10 years of war they had.
Our craft stop (and there is always one place where they stop to show you how something is made) was a conical hat and incense stick factory. I did however gratefully succumb to buying an incense stick holder in the shape of two hands pressed together. I wanted it badly and bargained the lady down from VND 350,000 to VND 250,000 (just over $10). This is also a gift to my Buddha back home, and I hope it beings me luck.
Right now we paid $6 to keep our room until 5pm. We have an overnight train to catch to Hanoi at 8pm. The weather is menacing, raining on and off. We found paying $6 preferable to killing time by diving into cafes to escape the weather. In any case we would spend the same amount in boredom keeping dry and eating noodles we didn't really want.
Our booked plans take us up until the evening of the 22nd September. We have 2 nights reserved in a hotel in Hanoi, then 2 nights on a Halong Bay trip explained earlier, then on 21st September, we have a 30 hour, yes a 30 hour bus trip from Hanoi to Vientiane in Laos. We have 24 days of Asia left, and it looks like we are making the most of it.
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