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Published: January 2nd 2007
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Royal Tomb of Emperor Tu Duc
Tu Duc ruled from 1848-1883, the longest reign of any monarch during the Nguyen Dynasty Hmmmm..there's nothing like a 12 hour train ride in Vietnam... Its a sleeper train, but I did not get much sleep....between dealing with the drama in Hanoi and the incessant ringing of a Vietnamese man's cell phone I had very little shut eye. Nevertheless, the train ride was quite comfy. Pillow and blanket provided, a cozy bed, what more can I ask for? I love the train!! I love watching the scenes of the night race by and the rummaging of the train cars as it glides along the track!!! I did lose my balance a few times trying to use the bathroom, you know hovercraft style, but I managed. As morning approached I eagarly waited for our stop. As I jump out the train I'm bombarded by people trying to persuade me to stay at their guesthouse or hire their taxi/motorbike. I randomly pick a guy and head towards his motorbike and guess who I ran into.....again, yes my ex. I yelled his name we exchanged a few words and off our separate ways. After that particular run in I had hoped that would be the last.
Anyways, I get to my guesthouse and meet up with a friend,
My soft sleeper on the train from Hanoi to Hue
This was before the 3 Vietnamese men invaded my private carriage!!! No, they were cool, scouting out Hue for a movie! Istok, who I met in Hanoi and we hired some bicycles and had a mini tour of Hue. I can't tell you the last time I was on a bicycle and in a foreign country at that!!! Trying to go with the flow and not fall on my ass I successfully toured Hue without causing injury to myself or others!!! We met again for dinner and planned to go to a great buffet he attended the night before. It was a shwanky hotel claiming to be "Hue's first 5 star hotel" oooooh! So as you can guess this buffet was not cheap. As we step in the hotel we we're greeted by a person that handed us a program, I look down for one minute then all of a sudden a huge christmas tree came alive with lights accompanied with plenty of cheering!!! We just made it in time for the christmas tree lighting ceremony!!! Complete with free buffet and alcohol!!!! My favorite word......FREE!!!! It was great, I was tickled to death cuz, just minutes before Istok and I were debating eating later since our appetites weren't quite ready for dinner!! The food was great, there was free champagne and
Heineken (thank god, a break from asian beers) and I loved seeing my first live Asian Santa Claus with his entourage of female asian helpers!!!! After helping myself to all the free stuff, I made my way to their rooftop pool, great view...great pool!! an hour later, Huang, a Vietnamese guy I befriended picked me up on his motorbike and we zipped off to the DMZ bar!!! He introduced me to his friends and showed me how the Vietnamese have fun!! (it was all innocent and friendly...don't get any ideas). After awhile, Huang and I had our fill of the bar, he drove me around the city a bit and we had a dessert (which in the Philippines we call halo halo) by the river. It was a great night and too bad it had to end...
The next day I went on a tour to see the royal tombs of 3 kings of the Nguyen Dynasty and the Citadel in Hue. It was here I met Jack (UK) very nice guy, kind smile, and the short time I talked to him really helped me......I hope he knows that!! That night I also met a wonderful person who I
Another Royal tomb
Outside the tomb of Emperor Khai Dinh (1916-1925) would spend the next few days with, Dan (UK). We had a great dinner some drinks and i decided to turn in early.
The next day I went on the DMZ (demilitarized zone) tour. It was a great tour in a sense that I learned alot about the Vietnam war and "their" side of the story. We stopped at Khe San, the US Army Special Forces base where many lives were lost in battle (10,000 North Vietnamese and 500 American troops). It was a sobering reminder that history repeats itself.............
During the tour I met a nice couple from Belgium, Peter and his girlfriend. We all agreed the DMZ tour as interesting as it was could have been better, too much time sitting on the damn bus. Peter and I met up later that night and had a very interesting conversation about relationships and things of that nature. Peter and Dan, maybe I'll run into you next time I'm in Europe which could be as early as May of this year!!
Next stop......4 hour bus ride to Hoi An!!
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Jack
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Hit the road Jack
Hi there Michelle, Glad you enjoyed our time together, shame it wasn't for longer! I'm in Hong Kong now. Lets stay in touch! Hope you have a great New Year! Jack x