Hanoi to Hue

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Wow we have done so much and it's only been a week. We left Hanoi to go on a boat trip through Halong Bay up north, the boat was really cool with little cabins to sleep in and a large deck to have meals. Halong bay is full of little islands sticking straight up and many of them have caves you can either swim through or walk through. We saw the 'James Bond Island' but honestly, they all look the same. We went kayaking through a cave into an enclosed bay and then swam in the ocean.

After heading back to Hanoi for some food we got onto the sleeper train heading to Hue. The train was quite an experience our "soft sleeper" was horrendously uncomfortable so we ending playing cards most of the night with the others sharing our room.

Arriving in Hue we checked into our hotel and then drove around the city to the citadel. Hue was preparing for an international Buddhist festival so they where hanging lights and gorgeous pink lotus flowers all over the city.

The Citadel in Hue contained the forbidden city as well as the old army bases. It was huge, probably around 12 of our square blocks. We learned about some of the kings who lived there and their hundreds of wives and concubines as well as when the french took over and destroyed most of the place.

We spent a lot of time walking through Hue, it is a fairly small city and much more peaceful then Hanoi. We picked up some 'rolex' watches at the market and ate at some interesting places. The next day it was pouring rain but we went to see the tomb of one of the kings. The tombs of the kings are extremely extravagant and layed out in five parts; there is always a giant lotus pond at the begining then stairs to a temple for worship, then there is a huge stone where the accomplishments of the king are written (by the king I might add), and behind that is a huge stone wall with the tomb in the centre, the last part is the tomb of the queen which actually looks extremely similar to the king's tomb but just down't have all the other stuff in front of it.

We then went to a small place down the street where they showed us how to make insense (surprisingly difficult) and the straw hats that they wear in the fields.

The bus through the mountains took us to the next city Hoi An, the bus trip was beautiful but everyone was too exhausted to stay awake.

I'll try to keep this more up to date.
-Erin

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Comments

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Sounds wicked! On to your next post...