A 14 hours sleeper train to Hue from Hanoi, shared the sleeper cartridge with a really nice Swiss family, Mum and Dad and 21 year old daughter who is at university in Berlin, we chatted for hours about traveling, I am in awe of these people who have been traveling for years, the Dad Jean-Claude told me stories of his travels through south east Asia over the last 20 years, they are in their early 60's and now they are both retired they are spending six months traveling and visiting friends, sounds like fun! This place used to be where the emperors used to live in the 1800's although their power was minimal as the French had a grip on this part of the world. There is a massive citadel with Royal palace in the city and tombs away into the countryside, spent a day getting lost on a cycle looking for the tombs with a Swiss lady who had got lost along the way as well, they are impressive although a bit ruined, it was a very hot day and quite tough cycling so what with trekking in the mountains and cycling for miles I am getting my fair share of exercise to offset the beer and the food. The best part of the stay here has been the day trip I took to the demilitarised zone where from 1954 to 1975 the divide between north and south Vietnam was created. We visited an underground village made of tunnels where local North Vietnamese people hid during constant bombings, this is where there was vicious fighting and wide scale agent orange dispersal, you can see the reforestation of large parts of the countryside, what a mess and a disgusting attempt to change nature, I struggle to empathise with any side of the horrible war. There is still unexploded bombs all over the place, a 1000 people die a year from the effects of what was left over after the war and this is as well as the third generation birth defects as a result of all the chemicals dropped on the land. However the feeling is one of regeneration, forgiveness and reconciliation from the people and whilst I have heard many horrible stories from local people, they all agree that they cannot live with revenge and hate and so there is only one way to go which is to get on with making Vietnam a thriving and free country and if you look at history right now is the most stable they have been for many many years, good luck to them. Hue has helped me understand this country and its people a bit better and I am getting to like both. Now on to Hoi An.