Vietnam – Day 8 – Hello Hue

I think I slept better on the bus than anywhere else this trip so far. The constant motion and extra space was very comfortable. They also prived blankets, pillows, and water. We arrived in Hue around 7 am. The timing was perfect since I awoke not much earlier.

As soon as we stopped people started filling off the bus. I was last as I was in the back. One of the drivers motioned me around the bus. They had already unloaded everything and my bike was there ready to go. I was about to strap on my bag when one of my new buds motioned to my bag, made hand gestures of eating and said “mum mum mum”. It was a wild guess but I think he wanted chocolate. I reached inside my bag and pulled out a handful of Hershey’s that we distributed to all the drivers. Then I was off.

On the drive down I had booked a hostel and wanted to orient myself around it. So I navigated there first. It was very easy to find and the rush hour traffic was nothing like Hanoi. However just to keep it challenging they have giant traffic circles where 6 to 8 roads intersect. There are no rules or controls for these rotary’s so might imagine the chaos.

After dropping my bags at the hostel I went driving around Hue for awhile in search of gas for my bike, a place for breakfast, and a gym. I found all but postponed my gym visit for later.

It was a hot and muggy day. I didn’t realize how hot until I started my first touristy excursion to the Imperial City. Many years ago the capital of Vietnam was Hue. Emperor’s from the Nguyen dynasty ruled from this city in the 1800s. The city had been destroyed by multiple wars since and is only now being slowly restored. The city is huge and amazing. Every building had multiple dragons protecting it.

From there I visited a famous monestary with a historic seven story Buddhist pagoda, Chùa Thiên Mụ, built in1601. This is an active monestary and there was a service going on when I was there. Practicing Buddhists prayed with the monks while tourists gawked and recorded it. I felt a little guilty snapping a couple of pictures myself.

From there decided it was time to clean myself up. I was hot, sweaty, and in yesterday’s jeans and t-shirt. Back at the hostel I showered and unpacked. I also took a moment to sort through my clothes. Back in Hanoi I had them laundered but in my rush out of town, I never unpacked them.

After I sorted through them and located my gym clothes, I hopped on my bike and was off to the gym. At the gym I did my typical unorthodoxed workout. As usual it was fun and I know the other gym goers were trying not to stare but couldn’t help it.

Back at the hostel I cleaned up again for dinner. Before heading out I gave the two girls at reception a couple of chocolate bars. One commented how much she liked American chocolate because Vietnamese chocolate was too sweet. She also said she would share with her daughter. I offered her another bar and she said she actually had two daughters. I grabbed two more out of my bag. She was very grateful and snapped a photo of me and her to show her daughters. I snapped one too.

Before dinner I decided to check out the night market. On the way, in two short blocks, two different motorcyclists stopped to sell me a ride, massage pupu, cocaine, marijuana, etc. I politely declined.

At the market I was yelled to by shop owners trying to sell their wares. I stopped to listen to a couple. They were very aggressive and expensive relative to Hanoi, on both accounts. In Hanoi everyone seemed content and even happy and I did not sense any desperation. Not so in Hue. The hostel also had warnings about not staying out late, and pick pockets.

The night market was on the other side of the famous Perfume River. It is called that because in the fall fragrant orchard blossoms fall into the river upstream of Hue giving the river a sweet smell. Being Spring, I didn’t notice anything.

As I walked back over the bridge, the city was now lit. I noticed a restaurant lit up on the river with rooftop dining. The menu was expensive by Vietnamese standards, but still cheap by US. My meal was around $12. I figured with my $3.50 a night hostel, I could spend a little extra. By the way, the gym day pass was $2.

The restaurant was very nice. The service was excellent, the weather was perfect and there was great live band with an acoustic guitar playing songs from the Eagles, Clapton and Cream.

On the walk back I bought desert from a street food stand people where all bunched up around. A little girl was furiously scooping fruits in to cups adding some ice and handing them out. People were specifying the fruit in their cups but when the little girl got to me I just told her to decide for me. I don’t know everything that ended up in the cup but I think it included bananas, lychees and red beans. I think there were a couple of other things too. You might be able to tell from the picture I snapped. I am not sure if I can.