Today we did not have any appointments with schools or work to do at the house. Vinh took us sightseeing all the way north to what was the demilitarized zone during our Vietnam War, their American War. We visited the Imperial City of Huế, also.

Hue's city name is pronounced something like "hwhay." It was the seat of the Nguyen Dynasty and capital from 1802 until the emperor abdicated in 1945 and gave power to Ho Chi Minh's new communist government. We visited the Imperial City and were able to walk all around where commoners were once forbidden to go. We stopped at other sights in Hue, too, including the Tu Dam Pagoda and the Linh Mu Pagoda.

On the way to Hue, we made a rest stop at an upper-level resort for a cold drink. The resort had Western-style toilets that flushed properly and had paper and soap to use. Other bathrooms we have encountered have been less user-friendly. The best had squat toilets, but some had only a closet-sized building out back with an ever so slightly sloping sheet metal floor with a trench running along side it. If one needed to use the facilities at a restaurant, one had to walk to the back of the dining room, through the kitchen, and either out the back door or to the small restroom on the side. All the while on the way, the employees just pointed. They knew what was needed and were pointing the direction.

We visited some of the locations that were important during the American War. At one of them where we saw bunkers built by the French and used later by the Americans, we encountered more pushy, pushy saleswomen. Vinh showed us to the top of a hill where there were several buildings used in the war. When we started up the hill, two women followed us -- one stayed right with me and the other stayed right with Philip. We wanted to see the historical sights and weren't particularly interested in buying anything. I eventually bought a map from my lady hoping that would make her go away. It didn't work though; she stayed with me trying to sell more things. Vinh saw that they were being annoying and gave them a lecture on good salesmanship. He said that he told them to back off and that they were less likely to sell something if they kept annoying the tourists. They did back away for a while, but when other salespeople started coming toward us, they resumed their spots at our sides. I wonder if they have a custom of picking out a tourist for themselves that other salespeople will then stay away from.

On the way back to Hoi An, we stopped to see the Tomb of Tu Duc, the fourth emperor of the Nguyen Dynasty. His tomb is considered one of the most beautiful pieces of imperial architecture of the era. It encompasses a large area with gardens, a lake, monuments, and the Hoa Khiem Temple. We climbed the steep steps to the top of the temple where we found an army of stone soldiers there to protect the tomb. (Tu Duc's body is not interred there, but in a secret location somewhere nearby to protect it from looting. However, the exact location of his body has been lost since everyone who was involved in burying it elsewhere was beheaded after the work was done.)

We enjoyed looking around at the wonderful statues, then proceeded cautiously back down the stone staircase with no handrails. I held on to Philip (for my safety) as we went done. At the last step, I turned loose of his hand and started walking in the direction of the car. After a couple of steps, I realized that he was not behind me. I turned around to see a small crowd gathered at the bottom of the steps. Philip had turned his ankle on the last step and fell. I hurried back to see how he was--not too happy and obviously hurting. Three policemen in uniform wearing sidearms were kneeling around him trying to see what to do. When one of them realized that Philip and I were together, he pulled out a tiny bottle and indicated by his motions if he should put some of the liquid on Philip's ankle. I didn't know. The policeman showed me the bottle which had an actual drawing of a snake on it. Did I want him to put snake oil on Philip's ankle? After asking Philip what he thought, we decided "Why not?" I didn't see how it could do any harm and it might help.

Vinh wasn't close by when this happened, but arrived soon. He talked to the policemen for us. Philip tried to walk off the injury and declined going to the medical clinic. Vinh drove us back to the hotel arriving there in the early evening. As the night wore on, Philip's ankle did not stop hurting, and we decided to try to wrap it up. I had nothing appropriate to do that with so we improvised by taking a thin, narrow hand towel folded several times lengthwise and wrapped it around his ankle. Then I covered it tightly with duct tape. I have been traveling with duct tape for a while now if we are going someplace that I think we would not have easy access to shop for things like we do at home. My MacGyver ankle treatment gave him enough support to feel a bit better and to get around the hotel room okay. Tomorrow I will try to find a proper support bandage.