Hue and Hanoi

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Final stop before the Vietnamese capital was the old capital, Hue, previously home to the countries imperial leaders. Perhaps a minature version of China's forbidden city, was the Forbidden Purple Palace. The place had been left mostly destroyed after centuries of neglect and a ferocious series of attacks from the Americans during the war, however what has survived or been rebuilt was quite stunning. Culturally and spiritually the heart of Vietnam, many people performed the pilgramage to the city to see the place and visit the countless pagodas. This worked for us, as the high concentration of pagodas meant vegetarian food aplenty. During our stay we litterally stumbled over our Swiss friend Alaine on our ramble home one evening through the quiet streets. Together and with another friend we explored the city.

Our final 14 hour bus trip that followed took us right into the busy madness of Hanoi's old quarter. Here we came and went for the next couple of weeks, visiting the surrounding attractions. The city itself seemed more difficult to live in compared to any previously, probably because of its business and spread. Perhaps in many ways this was better because we were always surrounded by real people, unlike in cities with foreign or backpacker areas. It had some great character in combining French and Chinese cultures with its own. The colonial architecture was the most intact we'd seen (even after the amount of bombing during the war), and the different streets were dedicated to a particular trade with their occupants living above their shops. Some of the more interesting were the medicine and party shops.

It was great to take a seat in a cafe and watch all the bussle, as walking required every bit of concertration to avoid the traffic. We were told by one local guide that the amount of motorcycles had doubled in the last few years taking it to the very scary level its at now, with little sign of getting better. We walked almost everywhere, sometimes using cyclos, until leaving the city when we took a death defying trip across town during peak time with our heavily ladden backpacks. Lets just say we have real respect for the drivers there!

One night out, we visited one of the well known tourist attractions; the water puppet theater. We weren't really sure what to expect, all we really knew was that it involved water and puppets. But it proved to be a very entertaining night, watching the performance from the front row, as it takes place on a pool of water. This form of entertainment dates back a very long time where it used to be performed on the water of the rice fields to entertain the people during times of flooding.

In the heart of the city around the main lake, lights lit up the night with an aray of colour, and a stage showcased circus performers. Further out of the main centre, the city was packed up. The stores and the streets became empty. Navigation was made doubly difficult as everything was so different between night and day.

Hanoi would be a hard place to go straight into, without the practice we got from the likes of Bangkok and Phenom Penh. Tricks like shortchanging (even at museums!) and taxis/cyclos taking you the 'scenic route' or dropping you off early were almost daily occurances. Quite upsetting at times, we tried not to let it get to us even after one driver made us miss the Anzac day dawn service at our Embassy. It was almost cute when on one occasion a consevative old fellow took my hand away from Kate's, we presume saying something to the effect of "not in this city whippersnappers". These sorts of events steared us towards the more western (and best of all french cafes) establisments and operators. It was perhaps a good warm up for dealing with being a foreigner in China.

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