We met up with a Swiss couple for the third time in the 3rd different place, everytime we've told them we're off to Laos so of course now they don't believe we are ever leaving and expect to see us in Ho Chi Minh. After buying tickets to leave and the bus not being organised correctly we can see why they might think that. We'd bought tickets for the "tourist" bus assuming it to be a comfortable way to pass 10 hours and the company or hotel decided we'd be fine on the local bus. Dom went ballistic back at the hotel and the three receptionists actually apologised (a first in Vietnam), they assured us that the next day we'd be able to leave on the correct bus....
Enough about our travel problems, in Hue we've again been able to eat some pretty good food and drink some decent fruit shakes. We bought some mini baguettes straight from the wood fire since we couldn't resist the smell of baking bread.
Hue has a 200 year old citadel based on the forbidden city in China, the links are very clear, from the large square in front, the three bridge entry and the number of temple like lodgings in the interior. There's also the highest flagpole in Vietnam which can be seen from most of the town. What's left of the citadel is quite impressive, even the temple where only a couple of columns are left standing. Restoration efforts have not been as crazy as in China and one still gets a sense of the history of the place. Outside the town we cycled around to visit another pagoda, Tu Hieu and met a monk who decided to talk with us for a while. We spoke about the Chinese writing which he finds quite interesting but of course reads as Vietnamese. It's amazing that one written language can be pronounced in so many different ways yet have the same meaning.
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