Next stop Hue!

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After another rough bus journey and with very few hours sleep between us, combined with bruised shins and elbows we were not in the mood for hassle! We arrived in Hue around 8am and after fighting off the hotel and taxi touts we used Marks excellent compass skills and headed off to the main tourist area! We skulked around a few hotels, having trouble picking up our feet (especially Dale) and after much bargaining we found a nice room for a good price!

Deciding that we wanted to continue the cultural aspect of our trip, we avoided the temptation of going back to bed and headed out into Hue! The temperature was already unbearable and after a breakfast of assorted Pho (Soup with noodles, meat and vegetables) we headed towards the Perfume River. We headed along the south bank before crossing and entering the Citadel! There were many sites of Vietnamese historical importance but the heat was making it hard to appreciate them! We did however, visit Vietnams tallest flag tower and walked past 'The nine holy cannons' each representing the seasons and main componets of the earth! Following this we headed into the inner Citadel where we wandered around Thai To Mei Temple and the Thai Hoa Palace.

Dale had found an interesting looking restaurant in our travel guide, so after all the culture we headed in the direction of the restaurant and booked our 7 course evening meal! Being too tired and hot to walk back to our hotel, we jumped in a taxi and headed for a local bar where we could have some lunch and enjoy a few games of pool. We enjoyed what we thought was free garlic bread but as it later turned out Dale and Ollie had ordered it instead of their meal!

In the latter part of the afternoon, we napped in the room before showering and jumping in a taxi to the restaurant! The meal was excellent and although we splashed out US$10 each, it was definietly worth it and was a welcome change of environment! Feeling stuffed, we jumped in another taxi and decided to head back to the bar where we had entertained ourselves earlier that afternoon. Luckily we had the same taxi driver who drove us straight there, chuckling to himself as we went! After a few drinks and meeting some girls from our previous hotel in Ninh Binh, we had a fairly early night and some much needed sleep.

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