Did we get lucky!

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Hello everyone it's Tuesday the 21st of Feb, 2:45 in the afternoon. We have a lot of catching up to do.

We left Hoi An yesterday morning after another wonderful breakfast buffet. We said our goodbys to Lai and traded addresses promising to write. Our next overnight is Hue a three hour drive. We left earlier than planned so we could have plenty of time to stop if we wanted to. The route took us near the ocean and through the Truong Son Mountains. They were very pretty and we told the driver that they reminded us of Tiger Mountain at home with their greenary and the mist at the top. About half way we took a refreshment break at a fishing village overlooking the ocean. The view was spectacular. Throughout the trip the constant sounds of horns from scooters, trucks, our own van etc has become the background music to everything we do. We are no longer shocked when we are on the wrong side of the road passing a slow moving whatever and another scooter passes us on our right.

We arrived in Hue in the early afternoon. Before checking in we took a tour of the Citadel. This is where the Royal Family lived prior to Vietnam becoming a Republic. The size, architecture, and layout is amazing. It is layed out similarly to the Forbidden City in China. We have lots of pictures when we return.

After touring the Citadel we checked into our hotel, the Saigon Morin, built in 1901. It has been incredibly restored and is very elegant. As it turned out they made a mistake and the Hotel was fully booked. To compensate they put us in the Morin Suite. What an upgrade! For you Grant Thornton people our bathroom is the size of the Club Quarters in Chicago. We have our own private dinning room, two balconies, and a view of the Perfume River.

My first impression of Hue is that it reminds me a bit of Paris. The area along the river here reminds me of the Seine. There are artist booths, little shops and boats taking tourists up and down the river. Clearly there is a French influence to Hue.

We had another wonderful dinner but this time our vegatables were carved like dragons, and snowmen. Our meals have been averaging about $8 each for 6 courses.

After dinner our plan was to catch a dragon boat and cruise the river listening to live traditional Central Vietnamese folk music. Unfortunatly we missed the larger dragon boat and had to catch a tiny dragon boat that took us to the larger one. Michelle wasn't too sure about this boat but it worked out ok.

The entertainment was very good. Though I could not understand the lyrics the music was beautiful. There were 4 Vietnamese girls in traditional attire and 4 musicians playing traditional Vietnamese instruments. At break time the girls lit candles in paper lotus bowls and each of us dropped one in the river to float downstream while we prayed for good luck. The sight of these multi colored lotus bowls glowing in the river was a sight to behold.

We came back to our hotel where there was more Vietnamese entertainment in the courtyard of the hotel. We listened a bit then retired to our room. Tom sat outside on the balcony drinking a beer soaking in Hue watching the boats go up and down the river and the sound of scooters just below,while Michelle sat inside having a quick snack.

This morning, Tuesday, we had another great breakfast buffet of traditional American and local Hue dishes. Our driver picked us up at 8:30 for what turned out to be "Tomb Day".

We walked across the road to board a private dragon boat for a 3 hour trip down the Perfume River.

Our first stop was the Thien Mu Pagoda. One of the most important Pagodas in Central Vietnam. Our next stop was the first of three mausoleums belonging to the First Nguyen Emperor of Hue. It was very ornate and serene. His tomb is interesting in that it is built into the hillside. His soldiers carried it inside the tomb and then killed themselves so they could forever protect the Emperor. The gates were then sealed behind them never to be opened again.

These mausoleums were built in the 1800s. On average they are the size of Seattle area neighboorhoods depending on the importance of the Emperor. They are all guarded by Mandrine Soldiers, lions, horses, and elephants . One of the interesting facts Michelle chuckled about was that each emperor could have hundreds of concubines and one emperor had requested his medical doctor to create a special medication to help him "perform". The Emperor's concubines upon his death were moved to a secluded location where they lived out their life as nuns.

It is interesting to note that because Michelle is Vietnamese she pays half what I pay in entrance fees.

We drove back into Hue where we treated our guide and driver to a wonderful lunch at a local spot ( plastic chairs tables and a tarp). In Seattle this would cost at least $25.00 and we paid maybe $5.00.

We've decided that we have not done a good job of describing traffic conditions in Vietnam. We came across an article written by a British Ex Pat that does a better job than we ever could. It is called " The Rules of the Road" and lists the 46 rules of the road as he sees it. We couldn't agree more. For the rest of our blogs we are going to close with a few of them.

Rule # 8 Red traffic lights often seem to be only advisory. Which leads to:
Rule #9 Do not stop immediatly at a red light or someone behind will run into you.

Tomorrow morning at 7:00 A.M. we leave our hotel to catch a flight to Hanoi.

It's ok if you want to contact us we will respond when we can.

Until next time,
Tom and Michelle

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Comments

[Suzann]

Enjoying your adventures...
I am enjoying your adventures, from spectacular scenery and architecture to hair-raising traffic, serious restuarant bargains and exceptional encounters. Thank you for sharing. I'm looking forward to seeing your pictures. Be safe! /Suzann

[debby]

Tom and Michelle Sounds like you guys are having a great time. Tell michelle to relax and have fun.....