We had a great time on the overnight train from Hanoi to Hue. It was a 16 hour journey so we'd booked two soft sleeper beds in a 4-berth room. A couple we knew were staying in the room next to us but managed to swap so that we were all together. Result :-) Beers on the train were only 50p; we sank a few of those each and stayed up chatting until quite late. When we did eventually go to sleep we could lock the door on our room, which was quite handy as otherwise we would have been a bit worried about our belongings going missing or being rifled through. We were vaguely aware of the train making various stops throughout the night but were all so tired and the beds were so comfy that we slept straight through breakfast, waking up at about 9am. We took it in turns having a sink wash and changing in the room labelled 'Western toilet' (actually a godawful small smelly hole in the ground) at the end of the corridor before falling upon a £1 brunch of rice and chicken. 40 minutes of green rice fields later our train pulled into Hue and we jumped off refreshed, fed and watered. And the sun was shining, yippee!

After dumping our bags at our hotel we went for a walk. The thirteen emperors of the Nguyen dynasty ruled from Hue from 1802 to 1945 so the city has lots of history and is a fascinating place to explore. Just north of the Song Huong, or 'Perfume River', is a large citadel surrounded by crumbling walls and a moat. Inside this is a smaller walled 'citadel within the Citadel' known as the Imperial Enclosure, where the emperors' official business was carried out. We paid just under £2 to enter the Imperial Enclosure and gawp at the restored temple, decaying buildings and overgrown gardens. We then meandered through the outer citadel, past a school where all the kids waved at us and said 'Hello, what is your name?' in perfect English, and past a stall where we sampled one of the local specialities: shrimp and pork pancakes (yummy). Afterwards we braved the Market just across the moat where all the stall owners kept thrusting goods under our noses as we walked by in a misguided attempt to get us to buy them. I wonder if that ever works.

Yesterday we went on a trip to see the tombs of Emperors Minh Mang, Khai Dinh and Tu Doc. They were incredible! They are ridiculously big and ornate and just felt so foreign. A couple had full blown moats and rivers incorporated into the tomb sites and/or life-size stone soldiers guarding them. One had hundreds of steps leading up to the room where the emperor rests, surrounded by beautiful glass mosaic walls. Our guide told us lots of interesting facts about the emperors too. Minh Mang apparently had 500 wives and 142 children(!!!), whereas Tu Doc was married and had numerous concubines but no children due to a childhood illness that left him sterile. After the tombs we stopped off at a village where they make incense sticks and the conical hats that Vietnam is famous for before catching a dragon boat back down the river to our hotel.

Last night we went out for a curry then for a few drinks and games of pool with Leanne and Jonathan, the couple we'd caught the train with. We originally met them in Luang Prabang and seem to bump into them everywhere. They were on our flight to Hanoi, on our train to Hue, on the trip to the tombs and on our bus to Hoi An this morning. We have had chance encounters on the streets, in pubs and in restaurants. It's getting quite funny now. Luckily we get on with them!

Today we caught a four hour bus to Hoi An and have just checked into our hotel - where we have a bathtub! A real one!!! :-D!!! It's been over six months since our last bath! It literally made my day to walk into the bathroom and see the tub sitting there :-D