Hue

Hue is home to the ruins of the Imperial City, the former dwelling place of the emperor. The city is really famous for its culinary arts. I suppose these 'culinary arts' were cultivated because a well-fed emperor is a happy emperor.

Anyhow, our first night in Hue, Jon and I checked out some Vietnamese music at a nearby cafe. We then wandered around the city checking out lots of art galleries. It was a bit cooler outside, and Hue had a really great vibe. I was certain I would enjoy it.

The next day, I woke up kind of late, meaning around lunchtime. Oops. Therefore, there wasn't much for me to do but wander around a bit more. Jon and I crossed the river, where we checked out a bookstore and strolled around the Imperial City. To put it bluntly, it wasn't strolling weather. It was 'curl up and hide in the icebox' sort of weather. We then searched for water...in vain. I turned red and began to pant like a dog. Fortunately, water was eventually located, and I was very happy. I clutched the water bottle like it was a newborn babe.

That night, I took in the alleged culinary treats of Hue. It was my most disappointing dining experience to date. Ah, you win some, you lose some.

The next day, we actually entered the Imperial City. The entrance fee was hefty (about 7.50 USD), but I suppose the high fees were a bit necessary to raise money for restoration. The city was bombed heavily during the American-Vietnamese War. When I say "heavy bombing", I mean it was basically eradicated. There wasn't much left to see of anything.
The big draw of the Imperial City is the smaller "Forbidden Purple City" within it. All the emperor's concubines lived within the Forbidden Purple City. The only males allowed in the city were eunuchs and of course, the busy emperor himself, who was probably very busy during his visits.

I climbed a tree inside the Imperial City. I haven't climbed any trees in a bit, so it was probably the highlight of my visit. On the whole, I was a bit frustrated by the visit, as I was really disappointed the complex didn't survive the war. I think it would have been astounding.

We tried to go to the fine arts museum, but it was closed. I was sweating like a roast pig by that point, so we lurched back to our guesthouse to cool off. Had vegetarian food that night, which was spectacularly greasy. I began to wonder if the "culinary delights of Hue" were like the mythical pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

That evening we stopped by and purchased some excellent (and cheap) black and white photographs, which were sold by the owner of a restaurant. I'm not sure whether he made more money on the food or the photographs!

The next day we went on went on the tour of the local sights, which were the emperor's tombs. Surprisingly a lot of concrete was used in their construction. We saw two tombs dedicated to specific emperors and a larger complex with lots of temples. Then we saw an incense shops. It's a frequent inclusion on tours, but I fail to understand why. To put it bluntly: incense-making is not that interesting.

We then stopped by a monastery to watch the monks eat dinner. It was really interesting, but I felt a little like I was invading their privacy. After watching them for awhile, I wandered out into the courtyard and started fiddling with this wooden stand placed out on the middle of the road. I looked up and noticed a Vietnamese man with a horrified expression on his face. He waved his hands at me frantically and motioned me away. As it turns out, the wooden dodad is actually an alter where food is offered to the spirits prior to every meal. Yeah, that's me, the idiot tourist.

Our guide was the same guy who ran the guesthouse we were staying at. A fantastically nice guy. I had a fondness for him because he bought us some really yummy frozen yogurt. It was a lot of fun to sit on the back of the moto, driving through green and luscious rice paddies whilst eating the yogurt.
Our next stop was an old covered bridge, which was the meeting point for all the locals. A slew of old men gathered to nap on the breezy bridge, wearing their jammies in the midday. We encountered an little old Vietnamese woman who was married to an American GI during the war. She informed us she was "very pretty" when she was young, and all the GIs liked her. She had a lot of sass for an older lady, and I liked her enormously. She offered to tell our fortunes, but Jon and I declined. (She predicted our guide would marry in two months and have five children or so. I could do without that sort of fortune.)

The last stop on our tour was the guide's family alter, located at his brother's house. He told me a lot about ancestor worship and it was kind of cool to learn about it from somebody who actually practiced it.

That evening we picked up our passports from the travel agents. (We applied for a visa extension. Our guide/guesthouse owner attempted to apply for the extension himself. Though he had done it multiple times, this time the tourist police wanted a hefty bribe. He refused to pay it, so they refused to process our extensions.) That evening I abandoned the disappointing Hoi cuisine and opted for pasta instead. It was my best meal in Hoi.

My last day in Hue I did a lot of sleeping, preparing for the night bus to Hanoi. The bus left that evening at 6 for Hanoi. Unfortunately, the lights were too dim on the bus to read. However, I did manage to catch a few hours of sleep.