> The next leg of the journey started like most had so far in Vietnam:
> with us alighting from transport tired, some with hangovers
> (thankfully not me this time) and knowing that we would have to face
> the rigours of sightseeing before we were allowed to get any sleep.
> It is one of the only things about an Intrepid tour that I found
> hard work - the incessant pace!
>
> Chinh took us to the hotel where we dropped our stuff before we
> headed out for mid morning breakfast at a restaurant belonging to a
> famous local photographer. He had taken pictures of the local town
> and had some framed. There did seem to me, to be a disproportionate
> number of pictures of naked children and old ladies in boats but I
> chose not to comment on this to our guide. Afterall, we were in his
> home town and he was immensely proud of everything there.
>
> And so, the weary travellers set off for the Imperial City,
> surrounded by high walls and strongly fortified. This was the home
> of the King of Vietnam and his family for 12 reigns and we got to
> see some of the buildings that remained inside.
>
> On the approach to the citadel was the largest flagpole I think I
> have ever seen. Even bigger than the one in Cancun, Mexico, which is
> enormous! This one proudly flew the Vietnamese star and could be
> seem from miles away.
>
> As we went through the main gate, we could see the bullet marks in
> the masonry of the floors and the walls of the gatehouse that had
> been inflicted during the Tet Offensive. Chinh also told us that
> sadly the Americans had destroyed most of the buildings inside the
> complex during the Vietnam War; or the American War as they call it,
> to differentiate from the French War. These people have been
> fighting for centuries!
>
> As mentioned before, the citadel complex was used by a number of
> kings but after the 5th, most of these were merely puppets installed
> by the French post-occupation in order to minimise public dissent.
> As a result, a large colonial style palace was also erected in the
> city for the French Governor to live in. The standard if life in
> those days must have been phenomenal for the colonial invaders as
> the palace was sheer decadence but sadly, only a model was left to
> show for it, the real thing reduced to rubble and a set of steps
> leading up from the foundations if this once magnificent building.
>
> Following the tour of the city we were honoured to have been invited
> to dinner with Chinh's family. He said that this was the first time
> he had EVER done this in all his time as a guide and if was really
> wonderful to know what effect we were having on the little guy! It
> was starting to be more like having a local friend show us around
> rather than the traditional customer/client relationship.
>
> Even more of an honour was my being asked to take the best seat at
> the table, next to Chinh's father, who seemed like a really great
> guy. Chinh was the youngest of their children and it was obviously
> quite a big thing for him to bring a group of westerners home as
> they pulled out all the stops to make the visit a special one.
> Indeed, Chinh's sisters and mother had spent the better part if the
> day preparing the meal we ate and we certainly ate well.
>
> I and the Aussie guy, Dan, that I was sharing a room with throughout
> the trip, had bought a bottle of red wine for the family as a thank
> you for having us and this seemed to open the floodgates of
> hospitality even further! I was invited to drink with the father
> 'vietnamese style' which involved me matching him drink for drink
> and having whatever he did. I had been feeling a bit tired and jaded
> from the rigours of the day and didn't really fancy another heavy
> night but I couldn't pass up this honour. Thankfully the old man
> wasn't a big drinker and he was also diabetic so ever drink we had
> after the 4th rice wine was met with disapproving looks from his
> wife and general mutterings of good natured discontent. Dan
> meanwhile had been paired up with the last unmarried daughter and
> was negotiating dowry payments being as he was the only single guy
> in the room! I believe the price agreed was fair although left Dan
> wondering if it was possible to buy goats and a motorbike in one
> place! Indeed, the ladies of the family had said that this type of
> culinary effort was normally reserved for marriage so we felt even
> more priveleged to be there.
>
> At this point the old man started coughing a spluttering and my
> first thought was 'Christ, I've killed him from drinking'! Medicine
> was fetched, water served and he continued to gag for a good few
> minutes. Chinh translated that he was so happy to see us that he had
> got over-excited and this was the reaction. Once the coughing
> subsided, Chins dad broke out the really good rice wine to toast us
> before proclaiming that he mustn't drink anymore I'd his wife would
> tell him off! The result: Burroughes 1 : Old ,sick, Vietnamese man
> 0! What a victory!! Needless to say, I was actually glad to stop the
> boozing that evening We bade farewell to the Huynh family, leaving
> Chung with them and headed back to the hotel weary and with full
> bellies.
>
> The next day was spent on a motorcycle tour of Hue which was awesome
> fun. Apparently this is one of the highlights if most people's time
> in Vietnam and I can certainly see why. We each had a driver and
> contrary to the general standard of driving in Vietnam, these guys
> were excellent. They all knew their place in the order we rode in
> and wouldn't overtake. It was like a quasi hells angels hierachy!
>
> We started off going to one of the oldest surviving bridges in
> central Vietnam before visiting a traditional rice factory where
> this one-woman show, about 4 foot nothing tall and with black teeth
> from chewing betel nut for a lifetime, proceeded to show us how they
> plant, harvest, seperate, refine and then cook and eat the rice. It
> was not only informative but she was hugely entertaining in her own
> way.
>
> After this we went the long way round through the rice paddies to a
> place where they made incense and sampan hats with the traditional
> Hue poem and images between the layers. It was truly fascinating and
> we all got to try our hands at making incense - it's far harder than
> it looks in the picture!
>
> We left the incense place and headed uphill to a prominent lookout
> where an old American bunker was located. Apparently this was one of
> the most crucial spots during the war because it gave excellent
> visibility of the little VC critters as they scurried about doing
> all things insurgent. It also had a small gun emplacement so when
> said Charlies were in full flow, the Yankees could obliterate them
> with great effect.
>
Post wartime memories, of seemed only fitting that we should be
cleansed and so we headed to a nearby nunnery for some lunch. Chinh
was at great pains to tell us that this was not a commercial venture
by the nuns but we would be required to pay 50000 dong for lunch. As
it turns out, we were treated to a vegetarian delight (the Buddhist
nuns were vegetarian and weren't about to give up their morals just to
earn money in their selfless commitment to the cause) consisting of
salads and god forbid I say it; tofu - the food of the devil as far as
in concerned.

The rest of the afternoon was spent visiting temples where we saw the
various stages boys go through to become a monk. The highlight turned
out to be crossing a ridiculously narrow bridge on the motorbikes in
order to get to the temple. So narrow was it that if I hadn't kept my
elbows tucked in, I would have been knocked off. Naturally, this being
the case, the Vietnamese decided to try and use the bridge in 2
directions at once! Typical.

We returned from the delights of Hue and prepared for the excitement of
the royal feast Chinh had organised for us. He was due to shoot off
and spend some time with his gf who he hadn't seen for weeks - which we couldnt blame him for!

The royal feast was an interesting (if not a little bit touristy affair) where we dressed up like idiots in costumes (I was a concubine I think, Dan was a princess) and we all sat around to be 'entertained' but a 'traditional' Vietnamese Imperial band. If I was to say I enjoyed it, I would be lying but the entire evening was extraordinary. We ate and drank well and found out before we started that the price we had been quoted was actually for the food only and all drinks were extra (which saved embarrassment).

We left the Imperial dinner (minus costumes) and headed to the DMX bar I think. When i say I think it is because despite the expense, Dan and I had consumed a couple of small beverages which seemed to fill us with a creative streak. When we arrived at the bar, we were presented with marker pens and proceeded to (legally) write all over the place. I was most proud of my effort (on Dan's shoulders) to christen the roofspace above the pool table which was previously unadorned but there were so many other writings and scribbles done!

We then headed home courtesy of 2 seemingly reasonable bicyclo chaps who offered us a great price which magically disappeared when we arrived (after they had gone the wrong way and extolled the hardships of how far away we lived form the bar) and was replaced by a price some 20 times greater. Needless to say, we were not about to pay this ridiculous price so we kindly refused their offer to lighten our pockets at which point they started using all sorts of American swear words that I have heard in some grown up movies. Dan and I stood our ground and were thankfully rescued by the receptionist who came out to see what all the commotion was about; at which point the ruffians scarpered with their tails between their legs and we gave the negotiated fee to her instead. SO nice!

Upon getting upstairs, we found out that the same scam had been tried on nearly all the group - to equal effect so I was quite glad that it wasn't just me looking like a patsy!

After a good nights sleep, we left sunny Hue and headed onto Hoi An - that is the next episode though so I wont spoil it for you!!