Hue

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As much as we did not want to leave Hoi An it is a shame that we didn't leave ourselves more time for Hue as it was the previous capital of Vietnam it has a lot of history and there are some great sites.
The day we arrived we were tired form travelling so just had a wander round the city to get our bearings. We came across a young man selling American war memorabillia. It was strange to see these things being sold on the street as they look like they should be in a museum. He had things like dog tags and engraved zippo lighters, right up to exploded mine shells. He was so enthusiastic about his collection that he was the first person I have come across in asia who showed us his wares without any pressure to sell. He must have been a real collector as some of the items weren't for sale, just talking points.
We only had one full day in Hue so we decided to do an organised tour of the city for convenience and to save time. The morning was spent visiting the tombs of the Nguyen dynasty. It sounds a bit morbid but the tombs were built when the emperors were still alive and they would work there and generally hang out.
The first one we visited uses chinese architecture and has a beautiful lake with an island in the middle where the emperor would sail his boat. It was a very peaceful place and felt like being transported back to China.
Lunch was included and we sat with a Vietnamese man who now lives in the States. He was very friendly and wanted to know our impressions of Vietnam. So far all the Vietnamese people we have met have been very friendly and really proud of their where they live which just adds to our enjoyment of the country.
The afternoon was spent at the Citadel and forbidden city. Unfortunately most of the buildings were bombed during the war but what was left was beautiful. The tour guide we had gave us a very one sided account of Vietnam's history which was quite funny to listen to. I dont know if it was a translation issue or if he really wanted us to know how bad the chinese and french rule was as the language he used was very biased.
We were then taken to a lovely pagoda set on a hill on the river bank. The tour was topped off with a nice float down the river.
That night we had our first proper experience with Vietnamese street food and have not looked back. You are gonna hear a lot about food from me from now on (also less photos as I'll be the size of a house soon). For the equivilant of 50 pence we had barbequed pork with rice and veg and it was yummy. We then went for a walk by the river where there is a whole community of people who live on their boats and all meet up at night to have parties and do kareoke on the boats. It was a great atmosphere.
Before we left on our overnight bus I found the local swimming pool so went for a swim. You could tell that no tourists ever use it because I had one of those moments where you walk in a room and it goes silent and everyone turns to look at you. Quite scary when you're in a bikini. Once they got over the initial shock I was made to feel very welcome. They then started shouting "come in, come in". A couple of women started chatting away to me in Vietnamese but I had no idea what they were saying. Very friendly though.
So next we boarded the bus to Hanoi for the final part of our Vietnam journey.

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Photos

Hue
Ever wondered how they make conical hats?

Hue
A dragon boat. Obviously.