Hue

We arrived in Hue yesterday and were once again welcomed so warmly (with fresh orange drink and watermelon), this time at Orchid Hotel, where we were again given an upgraded room and briefed by a lovely Vietnamese lady with the best English we have experienced so far in the country. All the rooms are really comfortable and have supplies of fruit, water, a computer, DVD player and internet access.

Hue was the capital of the Nguyen emperors from 1802 until 1945 and is now a World Heritage site because it contains significant relics of pre-communist Vietnam including a vast Citadel with the Imperial City where the emperors lived and worked. It took about 4 hours of our day to look round the temples, palaces, halls, pavilions, theatre, gates, grounds and the Forbidden Purple City. Unfortunately, due to heavy bombing during the French and American wars, much of the place is in poor state, although serious attempts are being made to restore parts to its former glory. Certainly, there’s enough there to recapture something of what life must been like during the time of the emperors.

Last night we found an Aussie bar (DMZ) and a Vietnamese-French restaurant, the latter almost exclusively populated with white, middle aged, western tourists but the food was worth it. The cost of living in Vietnam is ridiculously cheap, our 8 small courses for two and bottle of French wine cost £17.

Earlier in the evening, having gone out for a stroll along the Perfume River to see the dragon boats, then over one of the bridges, we were pestered for so long by a cyclo (like a rickshaw cycle) that we eventually agreed to a ride – it’s worrying when they cut across the traffic but everyone seems to avoid them, so we survived. Today we did see our first minor road accident, which is amazing it’s taken so long in Hanoi and here, considering the volume of traffic, especially motor cycles. This time, a guy with a wide load didn’t leave sufficient space to pass a female motorbike rider and she came off, then he lost his load. What could have been ugly was not, as the guy immediately went over to apologise and make sure the girl was okay.

This afternoon, having had pancakes and drinks for lunch for the princely sum of £5, we wandered off through the back streets in the rain, right outside simple dwellings where we could see their modest living spaces, to find a working pagoda. We then accepted a ride in our own private dragon boat along the canal and across the river to near our hotel. The boat’s lady owner did attempt to sell all sorts of silk clothes to Mary but since she had already chosen a couple of blouses last night to be made to measure, we declined the friendly offers.

Hue is relatively quiet compared with Hanoi and the people have been lovely, even the attempts to sell their wares, always asking where we are from and when we tell them, the response is nearly always “good football”. We then have some friendly banter about the relative merits of Liverpool and Manchester United!

Tomorrow, we set off on what is supposed to be a special (partially coastal) train journey to Danang, then on by bus or taxi to Hoi An.