We Was Cruisin' Down the Highway

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Trip Start Dec 04, 2005 Previous
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  Hue, Vietnam
Saturday, April 8, 2006

J: After the time in the mountains we had just a short stop over back in Hanoi before we hopped on an overnight train to Hue. One really great thing that happened was that we randomly ran into a couple of the girls we met while on the slow boat to Luang Prabang. We knew they were going to be in Vietnam at the same time as us, but for some reason we hadn't exchanged email addresses with them so had no idea where in Vietnam they were...well, at that moment, apparently Hanoi. It was so good to catch up with them about the month that had passed since we had last seen them. (M: It's a great phenomenon of traveling a circuit that many people are doing. The likelihood of running into someone is decent. Especially if you like each other and try to make it happen. And in a situation where everyone is new all of the time, seeing people you've already spent time with is a little like getting to be home. Someone familiar, catching up, exchanging advice and new stories. Seeing them was really great

Baby Tour Stop #1

. They're from BC, so we're hoping that we'll actually get to see them when we get home as well. Fun!)

The next night (April 4th) we got on a train for a fun overnight adventure. Okay, not so much with the fun, but it wasn't so bad...just kind of long. When we arrived in Hue there were two guys (Tam and Thuan) there to pick us up (courtesy of our BFF, Hung). We settled into our new guesthouse and then they took us to the beach to relax for the rest of the afternoon. It was a beautiful afternoon, with an incredibly cooling and refreshing breeze from the ocean. It was delightful. The next day was our big city tour of Hue. We hopped on the back of the motorbikes with Tam and Thuan again and site-hopped. Pagodas and tombs and babies - oh, my!

So as not to bore you all with how hot we were each time we got off the motorbike and wandered through the grounds of a tomb or pagoda I will just mention some highlights (plus, I am already having trouble remembering which was which and when). The tomb situation in general was pretty interesting. Some of them were built before the emperors died and they actually participated in the designing of them as well as working in them prior to their deaths. Can you even imagine that? Setting up where your remains and relics will be buried and then spending your living days hanging out, writing poetry, going to the little island--manmade, mind you (that was for you, Missy) (M: Thanks, Jess, that really made me chuckle)

Baby Tour Stop #2

. I mean, I guess it makes more sense that way. Why choose and design a resting place in a beautiful setting that you will never enjoy? The two main tombs we saw: Tu Duc Tomb and Minh Mang Tomb were both like that.

We went to this one really beautiful pagoda where we witnessed some monk chanting and praying as well as playing in the mud. Now, really, this is just not something you happen upon everyday...a whole group of monks covered head to toe in mud, laughing and clearly just having a fun time despite the fact that they are actually doing work (I think they were clearing out some of the mud because the water levels were so low that they couldn't grow the lotus flowers...something like that). Apparently this pagoda is a popular destination for monks all over the world. And understandably so, as the setting and the buildings are quite beautiful and it is an extremely peaceful location.

After seeing the popular Hue book sights, we got a totally different treat...the baby tour. So one of the things about Vietnam is that the babies here are huge. Really, they may be the fattest babies I have ever seen and just so cute. So our two tour guides are both dads and so we convinced them that we needed to see their small ones and really they were just so cute and it was definitely a highlight of the day. (M: We have both been really impressed by family life in SE Asia. The babies are LOVED. I mean, aside from the adorable fat factor, people are always holding and playing with and feeding their babies. It is really beautiful to see. Plus, the kids are really beyond cute.)

And to Hoi An we gleckel on...

Post your own travel photos for friends and family More Pictures

County Fair Award Winning Cucumber	Daily Life	Folk Songs on the Perfume River	Giggly Girls on the Beach
Incense Stand	Japanese Bridge	Lanterns Afloat on the Perfume River	M.I.M.
Trying Her Hand at Incense Making	Writing Space at First Tomb

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