Vietnam & Singapore - Hue part 1

---

Well, the sleeper train was an experience! We settled in just after 22:00, sharing our pleasant and clean cabin for four with Liz and Debbie. Susan and Liz took the top bunks. The shared facilities were clean and adequate for the job, so once we’d used them, we settled down for the night. All the bunks were firm to put it mildly, and that along with the noise and movement of the train, it definitely let to a broken night’s sleep!

We woke to a grey rainy day, looking out onto very wet grasslands as we headed south. Being in our third age, we were all quite stiff after a night on such a firm mattress, and welcomed the coffee trolley serving the really yummy ‘3 in 1’ coffee that we have been drinking in our accommodation over the last few days. We were looking forward to getting to Hue at around 10:00 getting showered and enjoying the walking tour of the city led by Mr T. But that was not to be.

Heavy rain in the Hue area overnight had caused the city to flood. Mr T told us that for the last part of the journey to our hotel we would need to walk through knee-high water, and our luggage would be moved there by boat. We need to make sure all our devices were fully charged as when the city floods, which isn’t uncommon, the electricity may go off. No problem, it’s all part of the adventure.

Then the train stopped and stood still about an hour out of Hue. We found out that there is debris on the line which needs to be moved before we can continue our journey, and that the water is now up the hotel reception level. Jane is trying to find us a hotel in a higher area, but we aren’t going anywhere for a while! As I write this it’s almost 11:00 and we’re about 55km away from Hue.

Hue is Mr T’s home town, and he told us that his home, situated in one of the lowest areas of the city, has flooded. His wife, daughter, mum and dad have moved to the mezzanine area of their house and thankfully are safe.

We had bought snacks from the Minimart at the station before we left and have plenty of water, so we’re safe and have provisions for the time being. The train staff brought a trolley round selling boiled eggs and boiled corn, but I didn’t fancy that at the moment – some of the group bought some though.

Recorded announcements instructed us that we shouldn’t under any circumstances leave the train, and to be fair, we wouldn’t know where to go if we did, so we settled down to wait. It was still raining.

Lunch, a spicy Pot Noodle with a fried egg on top was served at about 14:00. There was still no word about when we would be moving. The bunk was feeling harder every hour and I was running out of reading material, but we had electricity, we were warm and dry, and we were being looked after, unlike those poor souls stuck in their flooded homes. It was still raining.

It was around 15:00 when Mr T came and told us a bus would be picking us up in about 20 minutes and taking us to a hotel local to the station we were in – Quang Tri. Hooray!! We packed up, and were evacuated from the train onto the rails with our luggage, before crossing to the platform and boarding the bus. It was still raining.

We spent the night in the Golden Quang Tri Hotel. It was ok. The beds were clean and comfortable enough, but there was an overflow pipe outside our window draining ono a tin roof, and it rained all night.

Dinner was an experience! As Mr T hadn’t stayed in Quang Tri before the restaurant was a bit of an uncharted mystery. We walked about 10 minutes from the hotel to the Tan Chau Palace, and joined some very loud and boisterous locals celebrating something with repeated shots of rice wine.

My dinner was yummy, the egg fried rice was the best I’ve ever eaten. Sadly not everyone had the same experience, and Paula even found metal in her meal (the restaurant waivered the charge for her).

Now, every cloud has a silver lining! If we hadn’t had to change our itinerary, we wouldn’t have visited the Demilitarised Zone and the Vinh Moc Tunnels the next day (Thursday). Mr T is a fount of knowledge about the history of the Vietnam- American War; over here its known as the American War. I am embarrassed to admit I really didn’t know much about the war despite it being in my lifetime, but my knowledge has increased hugely. It was a very humbling experience, and I’m sad and angry about what was done to the Vietnamese people. I’m also very angry that wars are still happening; there can never be a good outcome.

If you want more information on the war, check out The Vietnam War available on YouTube the first episode is at

. Information on the Vinh Moc Tunnels can be found here:
https://vi.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C4%90%E1%BB%8Ba_%C4%91%E1%BA%A1o_V%E1%BB%8Bnh_M%E1%BB%91c

It rained at times, but not hard.

We drove towards Hue, which was now mainly accessible, although we did have to drive on the wrong side of the road in places to avoid the still flooded roads. The fields on the way were like lakes, with wavelets lapping at the edge of the road. Many side streets in would still have been inaccessible, but the main roads were mostly clear. We visited The Hope Centre, a vocational training centre for people with disabilities, which is supported by Way to Travel, and had a fabulous couple of hours meeting some of the people working and training there, and making key chains from recycled wrappers and pinch pots. We were given the key chains as a gift, but I’m not sure whether we’ll ever see our pots again! Check out https://hopecentrehue.com.vn

Our hotel in Hue (pronounced Hu-way) is the Carnosa which yesterday had knee high water in the reception area, but today is clean and welcoming. Amazing how quickly the people of Hue have cleared the mud and debris from the main roads too! Some of the group, including Susan and me, have rooms on the top floor – the fifth floor – a climb of 88 steps. Water was still being pumped out of the lift shaft, so our luggage waited downstairs for a while!

Hue was the ancient capital of Vietnam when the Nguyen dynasty were in charge between 1802 and 1945. It is in central Vietnam, and feels really different to Hanoi in the north, with wider, cleaner, and calmer roads that are much easier to negotiate. The buildings are more modern, with restaurants and coffee shops looking similar those found in the UK.

Mr T took us to the Why Not? restaurant for dinner. His wife My (pronounced ‘me’), and his daughter Bo (pronouced ‘ber’) joined us - they are both beautiful and absolutely delightful! I feel privileged to have met them. Mr T had already told us that he and My have known each other for nine years, and that they are each other’s first loves. So sweet!

And what a great place the restaurant is! Plenty of choices on the menu including Vietnamese, western and Mexican food, and some lovely cocktails. One of the waitresses had the funniest laugh, and was teasing first Karen about when her food would arrive, then told those of us who had ordered crispy noodles with seafood that they were out buying the seafood and it would take an hour before our food arrived on the table – she had a very straight face until we clocked she was joking, and she thought it was hilarious; her amazing laugh got us all going!

After a reasonable night’s sleep where it had been raining hard every time I woke, I was expecting to see the road outside the hotel flooded again. Thankfully it wasn’t!

Today we headed out for a city tour, by buy rather than on foot, because guess what, it was raining! Our first stop was the Tien Mu Pagoda (Heaven Fairly Lady pagoda) the oldest pagoda in Hue, built in 1601. It was a beautiful building, and the complex includes an octagonal tower seven storeys high and is the highest stupa in Vietnam. The view of the Perfume River from the pagoda was incredible, and showed just how high the water still is. And it was raining.

Mr T reminded us that temples are for worshiping gods and the dead – a general place for worship – whereas pagodas are the spiritual home for Buddhas.

Our next stop was the Mausoleum of Emperor Khai Dinh, the 12th emperor of Vietnam between 1916 and 1925. He was a bad boy, liking gambling and sometimes having to sell his belongings and servants to pay off his debts. He had 30 concubines. His tomb took 10 years to build, and is really quite something! He increased taxes by 30% to pay for the tomb, and it really is an elaborate and luxurious building. It is decorated inside with mosaic bas reliefs made of porcelain and glass, there’s a bronze statue of Khai Dinh sitting above his body, which is buried 9m below, and underneath a large square umbrella type decoration with 9 dragons on each side. It really is an extraordinary building!

It was still raining.

Mr T told us that the number 9 is important to the Vietnamese because it’s the highest single digit number, and Google tells me that it’s associated with ancient beliefs that attribute qualities such as strength, power, eternity, completeness, development and well-being.

He then gave us a lesson about Minh Mang wine – allegedly the viagra of Vietnam, and Mr T assured us that it turns men into tigers! We offered to buy him some, but he wasn’t sure whether his wife would be keen! Believe me, there was quite a lot of giggling from the group, and eyebrow wiggling from Mr T!

Lunch was at a local restaurant, consisting of Bun Bo Hue soup – beef noodle soup, and a specialty of Hue – followed by a coconut jelly slice and salted iced coffee - all absolutely delicious and costing around £3.30 in total!

We visited a family that Karen had been involved with on her previous visit, having helped to mend the roof of their porch and build a chicken coop. She has also been sponsoring one of the girls in regard of her school fees. The family were lovely, and presents were shared between Karen and the girls. It was lovely to see how sustainable the projects are, and how it makes a difference to the families involved.

Our project with ‘our’ family starts tomorrow, and on Monday we’re visiting a school. In preparation for the school visit we were taken to a shop to buy pens, notepads, toys and anything else we though would be useful at the school, should we choose to do so. Well, we did! I’m so looking forward to the next few days. Thankfully it’s now stopped raining.

---

Photos

The East Sea.
This is known as the South China Sea in other parts of the world.