A fleeting glimpse of Hue

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It was always going to be a short stop in Hue, given that the time on our Vietnamese Visa is quickly running out.

Arrived at 6pm to dump our bags and head out for dinner to a neat little local place where we were able to sample the Hue delacacies such as shrimp 'pancake' wrapped in banana leaves and Pan Lek(?) another type of vegetarian dish. All in all pretty damn tasty.

Still a little knackered and needing to catch up on sleep we turned it in early. Only to rise late as well the next morning - our Contiki tour was not off to a good start, but alas we procured a motorbike and we were off to the citadel - the former home of Vietnamese emperors before being handed over to the military and then heavily bombed during the Vietnam War. Needless to say the forbidden purple city was beautiful. The emperors quarters were mostly well preserved and if not in the process of restoration. It even featured gold lined roads and curbs (well the remains of gold anyway), a section dedicated to the cult of the nine Nguyen lords which was a serene place with an abundance of greenery, a playhouse, a reading room, an exhibit on ancient Huean artifacts and heaps of radom shady tree lined corridors and ornate porcelain roof trimmings.

Back on the bike and down the road to Thien Mu Pagoda which was another serene place set on the banks of the Perfume River, with some freaky characters guarding the entrance and then a sanctuary at the back it was dedicated to a bloke that burned himself in protest of the president at the time. It featured a pond full of lots flowers, some more Chinese style architecture and a small pine forest which fringed the property.

Next in stall was the Tomb of Minh Mang some 10km down a road that wound through villages and pine forests before finally allowing you to open up the throttle on the highway. After some deceptive signage we finally stumbled upon it and parked our bike 'for free' (yeah right) with a store holder near the entrance.

The tomb itself was idyllic - set on a lily pad lake with several ornate buildings it was the sort of place you could have stayed for at least a few hours in its shady surrounds, despite the fact that it was a tomb.
Alas we stayed about half an hour before returning for our obligatory drink that essentially payed for our bike parking. While we sipped our cokes and were pretty much ignored by our hosts who were engrossed in some wierd card game call Tan Phat (yes that P-H-A-T) a woman and her bling clad hip-hop baby befriended Michelle, so much so that Nunny was offered her baby to take home with her. Well, thanks but...

To distract her from this line of conversation I pulled out our travel games kit (which has been getting us in a lot of trouble at airports - cos the pieces look like bullets) and taught her noughts and crosses and ludo, before offering her and her child the kit (for when he gets older). Our hosts were fuming cos they got nothing, and several neighbours came running up to us offering us their kids too. Shit, what have we got ourselves into. I said "You can all share", surely in true Communist style...

It didn't seem to do the trick however and the bill for our already consumed drinks was bumped up to an exorbitant price, before I had to put my foot down and demand an appropriate amount of change. So with disgruntled store holders and a very appreciative mother, we were promptly back on our bike and showering them all in a cloud of dust. The only discernable thing in the rear view mirror was the smiling face of the woman - I guess we made the right decision. Just hope she doesn't get mugged for the games kit.

Weaving again through local villages we made it back into town on a wing and a prayer (neither of us had any idea where we were) and dropped the bike, grabbed a bite to eat and we were back on yet another 12hr bus journey to Hanoi.

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Photos

Hue
Nunny proud to be a little Commie

Hue
Ricko ponders his next spell over the cauldron

Hue
The tree house

Hue
The emperors throne (no doubt royal doulton)

Hue
Emperor Ricko surveys his palace

Hue
Thien Lu Pagoda adorned with lotus flowers

Hue
Nunny checks out the tomb of Ming Mang

Hue
Nunny's hip hop but definitely not happening kid

Comments

[Uncle Chop Chop]

Thats some funny shit!!!
Holy crap mofo's.... that is a funny blog....... And let that be a lesson to you too... kids are nothin' but trouble...steer clear o' em..... And Nunny you little red wearin' commie....super work!!!!