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Bia = food in Irish, beer in Vietnamese
Entry 17 of 58 | show all | print this entry |
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The question is not what to look at, but what you see -
Henry David Thoreau
No change there
And so on to Hue where we continued to 'eat' well. The overnight bus trip was as boring and uncomfortable as I remember it to be. I seem to recall the last time I did that trip saying that it was a once in a lifetime only trip (for the wrong reasons). Umm.... guess I got that wrong. At least with that trip out of the way there is only one more overnighter (in a few days we will go from Hoi An to Nha Trang on an overnight bus). Think positive Dave. We arrived in the early morning and duly searched out the hotel I stayed in before. I liked it, really liked it. The two taxpayers from home (that would be Pat and Dave) didn't like the idea of the overnight bus so they flashed the cash and chose to get the overnight sleeper train and met us in Hue. Hey, if I wasn't on a budget I would have been with them, for sure. But at US$32 for the ticket it cost more than our open bus ticket for the whole country (US$24). And we still got to Hue before them.
Hue
The city of Hue is nestled in the central lowlands of Vietnam, about 700km (430mi) south of Hanoi and 1100km (680mi) north of Ho Chi Minh City. It sits about 10 kilometres from the South China Sea to the east. Traditionally, Hué has been one of Vietnam's main cultural, religious and education centres. The city was the official residence of the Nguyen Dynasty beginning in 1687 and it became the capital of the Annamite Empire in 1802. In the old section of Hue are several splendid tombs of the Nguyen emperors and them, along with the large royal palace built as part of an impressive 10km perimeter moated citadel in the 19th century, are the cities main attractions. Tourism has saved the city; between 1975 and 1990 the old buildings were regarded as politically incorrect, signs of the feudal Hguyen dynasty. Everything was left to decay and it was only in 1990 that the local government woke up and recognised the potential of their cities sights attracting the tourist dollar. So they declared the sites national treasures. Finally, the cities future was secured in 1993 when UNESCO designated the complex of monuments a World Heritage site. The restoration from the years of abuse and neglect goes on today.
Hue, part II
We didn't really do a lot in Hue for the 2 and a bit days we were there. Again it was all very familiar to me. Even fewer changes here. Highlights? Well, the food seemed to get better. But that's not surprising as the city is famed for its fine food. The food in Hanoi was good but we seemed to eat even better food in Hue. It's amazing how good Vietnamese food is. And just like in Korea it's all good for you. And not a sniff of a KFC, McDonalds or Burger King. Our only problem was we didn't eat often enough. Another highlight was enjoying Bia Hoi with locals. We almost died of shock at the prices of a small beer in one of the fancy bars we happened to visit on our first night in the city so decided to 'tone down' the quality of the drinking establishment for the 2nd night. A good choice. Apart from that we spent a very hot afternoon exploring the remains of the huge moated citadel, had a look at the Thien Mu pagoda (essential viewing for any trip to Hue) and decided against a day exploring the aforementioned tombs in favour of an out of town trip to a national park for a swim. Again, a good choice. The accompanying photos explain all our adventures in more detail. Remember; a picture paints a thousand words, and saves me typing, so make sure to check them out before checking in with us at our next stop, Hoi An.
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| 17. | Bia = food in Irish, beer in Vietnamese - Hue, Vietnam Sep 08, 2005 (  7 ) |
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