Hue, Hoi An and Ho Chi Minh City

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Hue was where is finally got warmer and I could get my shorts out again! Originally the capital of Vietnam Hue is only a fraction of the size of the now capital Hanoi which also results in far fewer motorbikes on the road! Hue is the home to the old Citadel which the Emperor built back on 1804. It was where all the offical functions took place. It feels very similar to the Forbidden City in Bejiing except it is not polished and painted like they have done in China. Here there is moss growing everywhere and paint chipping away from the brick and woodwork, it feels less like a film set and more authentic and is very pretty. The other must thing to do/see in Hue is a motorbike tour of the other sites which lie outside the city, so I doned a helmet and clung on tight to my driver! I have to say that this motorbike trip was the highlight of Asia so far! It was so much fun! On the bike we stopped by Thien Mu Pagoda, the oldest bridge in Vietnam, an agritcultural rice museum and the Royal Tombs. But unfortunately it had to end as Hoi An was calling my name!

Hoi An is a step back in time and was the international trading port as far back as in the 17th century. It is also called the lantern town and when I arrived it was also the first full moon of their new year so many more lanterns were about town making it a very pretty spectacle! Nowadays tourists come to this town with a full bank account and leave with it empty as this is where you can get made to measure clothes, bags, shoes and much more at a very cheap price. So i thought it would be rude to miss to opportunity to treat myself to a tailor made dress (or actually two!). Whilst in town I also hired a bike and explored the local surroundings which is all very beautiful. I think that Hoi An is definitely a highlight of Vietnam and would definitely love to go back and would encourage others to go there for sure!

Next up though was Hoi Chi Minh city. Officially the population is 9million, but unofficially its 12million which means that there is also 12million motorbikes on the road...... it is also a relatively new city so there is no real historical buildings etc to view but I did venture out to the Cu Chi tunnels! The Cu Chi tunnels were prominent in the 1960's for its role in facilitating Viet Cong control of a large rural area only 30km from HCMC. There were more than 200km of tunnels and it is incredible to walk round and in them today. They were so clever (and cruel) to the Americans who fought against them. Altogether it was a fascinating place.

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Photos

A fake earth hill
Created so there were air holes down to the tunnels. They even put soap at the opening of the air holes so that it would disguise the human scent when sniffer dogs came round