Hue

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Even though we are back home I wanted to finish up the last few entries from our travels. We spent the last 10 nights in 10 different locations so access to the internet and time to work were at a premium. Thanks for following along on this journey.

After Halong Bay we headed back to Hanoi for a few hours before catching a flight to DaNang. By the time we arrived at our hotel and made arrangements for the following day, there wasn't any time left to explore DaNang. We caught a sleeper bus to Hue early Thursday morning for the three hour trip north to the city of Hue. The sleeper bus was a great way to travel. For less than $5 each we had comfortable reclining seats and a great view of the countryside. My only complaint was being perched beneath a speaker that was broadcasting a Japanese movie translated into Vietnamese. It was right above my head so it was difficult to rest.

Once we arrived in Hue we were dropped off at a terrific little guesthouse. For $25 we had a room with internet access, flat panel TV, and a beautifully furnished room along with a breakfast buffet the next morning. Something similar in the US would easily have been $200.

We didn’t have much time to enjoy the room though. We arranged for a driver to take us north to the Vinh Moc tunnels near the DMZ. The tunnels are similar to the Chu Chi tunnels near Saigon but because of the remote location, these were much less visited and more similar to their original state. The Chu Chi tunnels had to be widened to accommodate the flow of tourists through them. We were given one flashlight and pointed off toward the tunnels with little direction. We found a memorial that had many pictures and descriptions of the tunnels and some war relics. It was noted that 17 children were born within the tunnels during the course of the war.

We found an entrance and began to descend into the tunnels. There were electric lights strung throughout the tunnels that helped us make our way down about thirty feet below the surface of some uneven steps and low ceilings. As soon as we started to feel comfortable with the surrounding the lights went out and we were left with the single light. We decided to backtrack to the surface and find out about the lighting issue. We came across a man half sleeping near some sort of utility building. Through limited communication he locked up the building and guided us back toward the entrance. He handed me a dim flashlight and turned on his cell phone to lead us back into the tunnels. With three lights we felt a little more confident heading back. Our guide stopped and pointed us toward some of the cutouts within the tunnels and what their purpose was. In addition to being largely in the dark, these tunnels were extremely hot. By the time we finished with a thirty minute tour, we were both dripping with sweat. As Chris can attest, I could stand still at nearly any point on our trip and be dripping with sweat but this was brutal.

After our guide finished with the tour we tipped him a few dollars, grabbed some water and a few beers for the ride back to Hue. Our driver dropped us at the Citadel which is a huge walled fortress the once housed the Forbidden City. Much of this area was destroyed during the Tet Offensive during the Vietnam War.
We explored the ground on foot for while and made our way back to the hotel. At least we tried to. Once again we were directionally challenged and set off in the complete wrong direction. We walked for 30-40 minutes before hiring a couple of moto drivers to get us back near hotel. We had dinner and drinks at the DMZ bar, a popular hangout for westerners. We talked with our server for quite some time about what his life is like. It was really a similar story to many we’ve heard throughout our travels of SE Asia. He was working nearly seven days a week for about $200 a month to support his wife, three children. He had only been out of Hue once, as a young boy, to visit his father in Saigon. We also bought some artwork from a local painter selling his collection along the street.

The next morning we were on the bus again. This time headed south to the small coastal city of Hoi An.

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