Hue

  Hue, Vietnam
Thursday, November 15, 2007

We arrived in Hue at our scheduled time of a little after 8am. When leaving the station we were swamped by taxi drivers. After choosing one we loaded our gear. The rear door of the vehicle didn't shut properly and Deb held on to her case all the way to the hotel. We had a hotel picked out but of course the driver knew a "better one"..."very cheap"...."very good". The drivers get kick backs for bringing customers to a hotel but we didn't really care. The hotel turned out to be very comfortable and in a good part of town so we decided to stay there. We booked a tour for the next day then set about exploring.
We wandered around on our own for a while before giving in to one of the persistent cyclo dirvers and agreeing to a trip across the river to the market. The driver dropped us at the market and wouldn't take any money as he wanted us to use him for the trip back to the hotel. We agreed to find him again later as set off to view the market.
It was now around lunch time and, as there were no food stalls in the market, we decided to head out and find a restaurant. We were no where near the driver at this point and decided we would find him after lunch. Our plan was to do a lap around the block and find somewhere for lunch. Unfortunately this part of Hue didn't seem to have "blocks" as such. The road we were on stretched on endlessly without a restaurant in sight. This must have been household utensil and white goods street! We had travelled quite a way from the market and decided we might as well head back the way we had come. On turning around who should we see but the trusty cyclo driver! How he spotted us leaving the busy market I will never know, but he was not going to let a fare get away.
We told him we would like to find a restaurant and he took us quite som distance to one he either liked or got a commission from. Anyway, it turned out to be run by a deaf guy. The food was good and, surprisingly, we had quite a good "conversation" with him via signals and signs. He told us about the recent floods and how it had closed his shop and he had only just been able to reopen. When we left he insisted on giving us both a home made bottle opener. They are a piece of wood with a bolt throught it and they work surprisingly well.

Craig, Deb & Cyclo driver

The cyclo driver then transoprted us back to our hotel and didn't charge us any extra for the restaurant detour.

Young girl making incense

The next day was our tour and the rain was falling steadly. We found out later that the rain was part of a huge weather pattern that stretched from the Hue region to beyond Nha Trang in the south and would stay with us for the rest of our stay in Vietnam. We boarded our bus and set off to see the tombs of various Kings during the morning.

Debbie D - Tomb Raider

The Tombs were interesting and ornate. Some tombs took longer to build than the actual reign of the king who commissioned them. Heading towards lunch time and the rain had progressed from insistent to hammering. Deb and I declined the offer of the last tomb and kept out of the rain in a lean to cafe and talked to another Australian couple while sipping on some "interesting" Vietnamese coffee.

Soldier at King's tomb

One thing that amused us greatly on the tour were a couple of male tourists that Deb & I christened the "Funky  Monkeys". They were older gentlemen, somewhat portly, and a little vertically challenged. They were dressed in matching safari suits and bright canary yellow short sleeved shirts. The Funky Monkey title stems from a bar of the same name we heard of while in Hanoi. Apparently the "Funky Monkey" caters well for customers that like to "bat for the other side" so to speak. I thought maybe they were twins, but Deb assured me that was not the case. Interestingly the Funkey Monkeys managed to pop up where ever we went over the next week or so, still in the same matching safari suits. Deb was beginning to think they were after me! 
Lunch was included and was at a restaurant around the corner fron our hotel. Deb decided visiting more temples and pagodas in the afternoon was not going to be much fun so she decided to return to the hotel, leaving me to field questions from the guide as to why my wife didn't want to come with us.
I continued after lunch as I at least wanted to see the Citadel.

Citadel at Hue

It was an interesting area where one of the kings had built an enclosed city as a defense against enemies. The sad part was that, if not for the French and American wars, the Citadel would be in excellent condition. There should be over 150 buildings to exlpore. Unfortunately only 3 remain. There are some very lovely large brass urns that have been dented with bullet holes.

Citadel model

The final part of the tour was an uninspiring trip down river to the city. Once docked I walked back to the hotel. Deb had spent the afternoon looking around at the shops but was not impressed with the service. In one shop she was refused service. Not just ignored but told to leave! The cyclo driver that returned her to the hotel tried to majorly overcharge her. Of course she refused to pay his asking price but these experiences did nothing to help her warm to the city of Hue.
We really only stopped here to break the journey to Hoi An. We didn't have any expecations of a wildly exciting stay as all the books indicate that Hue is more the cultural centre of Vietnam. A place of museums and galleries. It is not a place that suits us so we would not choose to return in the future but haves poken to other people who love the place. Horses for courses I guess.
The next day was our trip to Hoi An. The clothes shopping capital of the universe! Deb is eager with anticipation!