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Published: October 28th 2008
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A short bus ride up the coast from Da Nang to Hue takes us over the mountains and past some old US gun emplacements that watched over the vital road. On the way we stopped for lunch at a "local Vietnamese restaurant". The prices were all in dollars, so hardly local! The food was nice and the sand on the beautiful, uncrowded beach was very fine - similar to that previously encountered on Whitehaven Beach in the Whitsundays. The weather was overcast so no-one decided to take a dip but we ventured down to the beach to dip our toes in the water (surprisingly warm!) It must have been the tremors of the Westerners touching the sand as low and behold the hawkers came out from nowhere selling a whole selection of tut. Gary was about to waiver but one woman discarded her empty food packet onto the otherwise pristine beach and Gary sent her away with the reprimand "I am not buying off a litter bug" (He made her pick up the rubbish too - he is so environmentally friendly!). Soon we arrived in Hue the former capital of Vietnam and also known as the wettest town in Vietnam. We
were not to be disappointed!!!
For evening entertainment the group decided to partake in a Royal banquet. Gary was very excited and decided to dress up for the occasion. He went out of his way to find a laundry that would iron his shirt and long trousers (at a cost of 20,000 dong (about 1 US Dollar). All spruced up we went down stairs to meet the others only to find the biggest downpour in living memory. Donning ponchos we jumped into taxis and made our way close to where the banquet was being held , down an alley behind the main road. Out of the taxis we jumped and into calf high water. The streets were completely flooded. Gary's newly pressed trousers acted like absorbent paper. By the time we got to the restaurant the water had soaked up to his bottom! Once inside we were given beautiful traditional costumes to wear (Gary needn't have bothered with ironing his stuff). As the oldest we were given the task of being King and Queen for the evening (Gary was not Queen) and we had to sit at the top table. This had its advantages, as well as having to wear
Honestly it rained
It was deeper nearer the restaurant the most elaborate (some may say ridiculous ) costumes we also got our food first (and plenty of it!) As one of us was veggie Gary got twice as much meat as everyone else. The food was delicious. We ate and drunk to the sound of traditional Vietnamese folk music (we think this is what it was as we couldn't actually hear it due to the extraordinarily loud rain battering down on the roof). All in all a good evening, rounded off by having to wade through now knee deep water to get back to the hotel.
Next day you wouldn't even know it had been raining. The sun was out and the streets were dry - unbelievable! We had booked a local trip on a boat to see some temples and Pagodas. This trip was ok, relaxing but long - lunch included (not nice) but it only cost $3.00 for the whole trip, so what do you expect. Early night for us two after dinner. Only stopping to buy alcohol supplies from a local trader for the last train journey . It said Bacardi Oro on the bottle, but in theory it could have been anything from weak tea
to urine.
In the morning we had a cyclo trip out to the Citadel across the river. The Citadel was huge and you could see was very impressive in its day, but still needed a lot of renovation to be done. Well worth a visit though.
After lunch was a taxi to the train station to catch our last overnight train of the trip. We had our usual sleeping partners in the train cabin- a very stylish young couple, Jen and Rich. They seemed to enjoy Gary getting more and more tipsy on his tea/urine drink. It had the desired effect on Gary. Carolyn had packed Pass the Pigs and so this passed the time quickly. For those new to the game, it involves throwing two small plastic pigs on to a hard surface. Depending on the position they land determines the number of points scored. The aim is to stick at a number of points before losing them by "making bacon" or "Pigging Out". It is highly addictive. The competitive streak of certain group members came to the forefront. Jo the mad Jock was obsessive and continually stated " just one more throw" only to be disappointed by "Pigging
Out". Gary's speech became more slurred as the evening went on and Carolyn had to confiscate his Bacardi, much to his dismay, but everyone else's relief! We arrived in Hanoi in the early morning, as usual, to be confonted once again by the hundreds of people doing exercise around the central lake.
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