The town of Hue is rich with history and ancient architecture. The town is sliced in two by the, very elegantly named, Perfume river. We found a clean hotel, dropped of our bags and headed out for a much needed lunch. After lunch we did a bit of shopping and checked out the general lay of the land.
Something we had forgotten to do in Hanoi and Halong bay was washing! My clothes were at the point where I had given them all names because they could walk on their own and would soon be talking to each other. Needless to say we dropped them off and had them sorted out.
That night we enjoyed a Vietnamese dinner on the sidewalk. Kate ordered a glass of white wine because she felt like being fancy but instead received something which would be better suited to taking paint off a wall. Facial expression...........priceless.
The following morning we walked down to the perfume river and wanted to catch a water taxi across to the Citadel which is the main attraction in Hue. Before we knew it we had paid four times the price and were being taken on a 3 hour boat trip, which our little guide assured us was amazing. The boat would drop us at three different locations along the river and we would walk to all the temples and pagodas from there. The first stop was the Thien Mu Pagoda. We were given a 30minute curfew and let loose. I won't bore you all with the history but I assure you it's an impressive structure with seven tiers of granite which overlooks the river. After 20 minutes the little lady operating the boat came screaming towards us pointing at her watch and telling us off for taking to long. I thought Kate was going to "pop an elbow" at her while telling her that we hadn't even spent 30 minutes yet. The second stop was very random. After traveling up the river for about forty five minutes we pulled onto the bank and were ushered onto a little footpath which led into the jungle. The two of us and four French boys, who were also on our boat, looked at each other and just laughed. Were did she want us to go and what were we even looking for? One of them classic South East Asia moments. Anyway, completely clueless we set off and just kept walking until we found some people in a village who pointed us in the direction of the "Tomb of Tu Duc" which was the biggest attraction in this part of the jungle. Well let me tell you, Tu Duc, was obviously a very important man because his tomb was surrounded by the most magnificent manicured grounds and historic buildings. Some crumbling as the years went by and others trying desperately to hold themselves upright. The roofs sagged and the walls were bending with age. The outdoor tiled floors undulating with pressure from the roots below. We were all in absolute awe. After an hour, which wasn't nearly enough, we teamed up with the frenchies and headed back through the jungle to the boat. Another 30 minutes up river and we reached the "Mausoleum of king Khai Dinh". Yet another breathtaking assembly of perfectly manicured gardens, walk ways, terraced buildings and waterways. Everything built in faultless symmetry, however some parts of the symmetrical layout missing simply due to age. By now it was 16:30 pm, the Citadel closed in an hour and we still had a Mammoth boat trip back to Hue. We were a bit disappointed that we didn't get to see the famous structures but we had seen some of the most incredible architecture on our whole trip. We said goodbye to our French mates and boat driver and headed off to find a bowl of Pho for dinner. By now we were both starving. The three hour boat trip had turned into six with no lunch. Kate was struggling to breathe by this point and I had lost my sense of humour. We found a nice little spot on the pavement and within 2 minutes there where two bowls of piping hot chicken pho along with fresh coriander, lime wedges, fresh mint and fried bread. We ate so fast that standing upright was painful. I wish I had listened to my mother when she had said "eat slowly". After dinner we slowly made our way to a local night market and bought a few bangles and t shirts. Once again it started pouring with rain and we got drenched from head to toe. Gotta love Vietnam.
The next morning we were scooped up from the hotel and ushered onto the bus which would carry us south to Hoi An. Hue had been a pleasant surprise as we hadn't even intended on stopping here. Culturally it had been the highlight of the trip thus far. We were super excited for Hoi An as so many people cannot stop showering this little town with compliments. We'll see what happens!? Same same but different...........