Hue, Vietnam

Whereas I really liked Hanoi, I was happy to leave for the South. People in Hanoi appear to be fed up with tourists. They are loud and rude, and a bit dishonest. When I finally managed to get my open bus ticket and secured a bed in the night bus to Hue, the driver very unsurprisingly forced us to say farewell to Hanoi by playing very loud vietnamese music until midnight. He woke us up at 5am in the same manner. Lovely.

We arrived to Hue after 12 hours. I stepped off the bus and after sorting through the bags, got mine, and set off to find a coffee shop. I found a very nice one (on thu wheels) where I could get me a yummy Vietnamese coffee and an omellete. Life is good again.

I booked me a bed in a dorm in Hue Happy homestay, and went over to the bus station to book my trip to Hoi An for the next day. The owner of Happy homestay allowed me to check in early and welcomed me with fresh fruit, tea and a map. I dropped off my bag and set towards the Citadel.

As I strolled by the river I got asked by a group of 5 children aged 8-9 years old if they could interview me for a school project. They asked me about my job and my shopping habits. It was for their English class. They were very sweet.

After that, one of the motorcycle taxi guys tried to convince me that the citadel was closed, and that I should instead go with him to visit the pagoda. By now I know better than to trust taxi drivers of any kind in Vetnam, so I continued my way. I crossed over the bridge, and turned left towards the citadel.

The citadel includes the imperial and the forbidden cities. It was build between 1803 and 1833, and it was home to the last emperors of the mandarin Nguyen dinasty. They ruled from here until Vietnam was invaded by France. Many of the buildings within this walled city were severely damaged during the Vietnman war. However, much effort has been put towards their restoration and the conservation of historical documents and artefacts. The main building, where crowning and other important ceremonies were celebrated, was completely restored to reflect the unique architecture and decoration of the time.
Many exhibits around the compound show pictures of the last emperors. Some of them were only 10 years old when they started reigning. Another exhibit shows official documents signed and modified by the emperors, ruling over different aspects of societal life at the time (like the increase of rice prices or the hiring of new employees for local schools). There is also a museum which exhibits recovered artifacts.

Following my visit to the citadel, I walked around looking for a place to eat lunch. Inadevertedly, I wounded up in one of the lonely planet recommended restaurants where for 45000 dong, I had me a typical Hue dish: you roll spring rolls with vegetables and tofu, and a decadent peanut sauce.

After lunch I headed over to the Dong Ba market. In a very cluttered space, with narrow passages and merchandise up to the ceiling, you can find here anything ranging from shoes and apparel to dry squid, to cleaning products. It's a huge market selling anything imaginable in bulk.

In the afternoon I went to Tree Coffee. A highly rated coffee shop in trip advisor. In the way, I got stopped by yet another group of English enthusiasts. This time, teenagers. They took turns asking me questions about my country, and explained to me the nitty gritties of making Banh gai, a sweet bean and sticky rice dessert typical of Hue, as an example of their culture.

Mr. Mui, the owner of tree coffee, improvised me an egg coffee...something I had been wanting to try in Hanoi, where it is a specialty, but didn't get the chance to. It consists of black coffee with condensed milk at the bottom, and wiped egg whites at the top. It is sweet and creamy, and decadent. So good! Mr. Mui sat down with me while I had my coffee and we talked about Hue, his life and my life.

On my way back to the hostel, I stopped at a local restaurant and had a shrimp and vegetable fried pancake, another specialty of Hue cooking. Again, the friendly hostess at the restaurant made conversation, and was very kind.

Hue was intended to be a pit stop on my way to Hoi An. A place where I could do laundry and sleep in a bed after nights of sleeper buses and boats. I regret not having time to stay here for longer. The locals are beyond friendly; a great break from the displeasing people I came by in the North. I'm excited about the South of Vietnam. I can't wait to see more of this kind and agreeable, full of good food and nice people, Vietnam that I can easily fall in love with.Read more