I Heart Hue

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Well after an overnight train where I learnt to play whist (which is so deliciously country club), and slept badly I found myself in the Vietnamese town of Hue. Basically we had one day to squeeze everything out of the place that we could- and what better way than a motorcycle tour.

And I'll tell you something, I love motorcycles. I don't feel particularly inclined to drive one myself, but perched on the back of one, racing around with someone who knows what they're doing... god it's fun.

Our guide for the day was a bit of a nutter, but his English was exceptionally good, and he actually understood a lot of the slang. I discovered this fact after commenting that their king must have been shooting blanks with over 100 wives and no children when we were visiting the Royal Tomb. I was impressed, 'shooting blanks' is a pretty obscure slang term to know.

Our first stopover on the motorcycle trip was the Hue citadel, which was pretty much ruined during the Vietnam War (or as it is known in Vietnam, the American War), but it is slowly being restored. According to our guide was just like English castles except bigger, and in Vietnamese style, so really what he was saying was that it wasn't anything like English castles at all.

Then we drove through some backstreets (obviously made just for motorcycles and bikes, because their's no way a car could have made it up there), to visit a one-armed woman who made traditional Vietnamese hats for a living. I bought one off her, and it has plagued my lugguage ever since. A conical shaped hat doesn't lend itself easily to being packed. But this was a one armed woman making hats, if there's anyone I was going to buy a hat off, it was going to be her.

After that, we drove through the countryside (with kids running out to wave and yell "hello" at us), which mainly consisted of rice paddies with mountains in the background. Stunning. We arrived at an old style bridge, where an old woman came out to tell our fortune.

Here's how my life is going to pan out according to her:
Next year, I'm going to have relationships with 2 people, and love one of them. I'm getting married at age 26, having 1 boy, then get divorced because my husband works too far away. I'm getting married again at age 33, to a man I won't love, but I'll have another boy and 2 girls, so I'll still be happy. I get a bad hip at age 53, but I don't die until I'm very old. Oh, and I'll be decently rich by the age of 24.

She told me I had one sister, and that she was very tall (by Vietnamese standards I guess). She also said my parents were very proud of me and that I have a lot of friends who love me. Creepy she knew I had one sister though...

So after that bit of palm reading fun, we headed off to the Royal Tomb, then had a nice boat ride over to see the monks doing their afternoon chants at a pagoda. Then it was back home on the motorbike, and the end of an awesome day.

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Photos

Some temple..
Where they kept the car a monk got out of before burning himself to death in protest.

The bridge of fortune...
Actually I think this is the Buddhist convent we had lunch at, but I'm going to pretend...

The Citadel
It's not an English castle, but it's not half bad.

The river
Don't ask which one, I really can't keep track of these things.

Leaning tower of Hue...
I lie, it wasn't leaning.