Happy in Hue

---

Days 5-7

Luckily the sleeper trains in Vietnam are much nicer than the ones in India. I was impressed by the fact that the beds were wide enough to lay on your side and even a door that locks! There were two bunks and two sinks at the end of the corridor. Our train left Hanoi at 7pm and arrived in Hue around 8am with several stops along the way. It was nice to arrive to 35 degrees and sunshine. Excellent!

We arrived at the hotel and were forced to relax by the rooftop pool while we were waiting for the rooms to be ready. What a hard life! In the afternoon we went on a walking tour of the Citadel and the Imperial Enclosure. The highlight of the day was meeting Mr Cu at the Mandarin Cafe. He is a Vietnamese photographer and takes the most amazing photos and life, sights and sounds of Vietnam. He was so interesting to talk to and we got him to take a picture of our group and show us the camera which he uses. The food was great too. To finish the evening we enjoyed a cocktail at the rooftop bar with views over Hue.

On day 6 we visited the Tombs of Tu Duc the emperor who designed it himself for use before and after his death. It was really sunny and very peaceful. My favourite part of the tour was our dragon boat ride across the perfume river to the Thien Mu pagoda. Very tranquil and a wonderfula sight to relax in for an hour. On the way back to the hotel a few of usvisited the Spiral Foundation for Healing the Wounded Heart. A not for profit charity which generates cash for trash and uses it to pay for heart surgery for children. On the wall were many famous actors including Angelina Jolie whosupports the charity. I attempted some sign language but Vietnamese was very different to British Sign Language.

Out Kings dinner in the evening was great fun. We got to dress up and I was the Queen! We had a ten course meal and our own musicians. Fab! To finish the evening a few games of pool, lots of cocktails and some dancing at the Brown Eyes bar. Tammy and I enjoyed meeting two young Austrian guys!

---