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We arrived at our Backpackers hostel in Hue at 8.30am, but we couldn't check in as our bed wasn't ready. We would have loved to have caught 40 winks but no, we had to entertain ourselves until 11am. So we had breakfast and went for a walk around the local surroundings to get our bearings.
Hue is apparently the intellectual, cultural and spiritual heart of Vietnam, hence our reason for visiting. Yet again, Hue is a World Heritage Site (We must be visiting them all!)
Once we had checked in, we showered and dressed then we went walkabout around Hue. Hue is a pretty city with landscaped gardens either side of the river. As we were heading towards the Citadel we came across the deaf run restaurant, Lac Thien hoping to see the wall of graffiti and find our friends messages but it seems they clean the wall on a annual basis and start afresh every year which meant we couldn't find our friends messages.
Next door, there were two or three other restaurants trying to pass off as a Deaf restaurant but when we tried to communicate with them all they said was 'me deaf' which clearly indicates that they're not! As ANY deaf person can hold a conversation with other deaf people regardless of their language - all they need is their hands.
The Citadel (also known as the Forbidden City or the Purple City) occupies a large, walled area on the north side of the Perfume River. During the Vietnam War it was heavily bombed by the Americans, but you can still see the agriculture, scope and beauty of when it was occupied by the then Emperor. 0nly the Emperor, and those close enough to the Emperor were granted access to the forbidden city and if you trespassed you would be sentenced to death! There are 2.5k of walls and within the walls there are landscaped gardens and various ceremonial buildings no longer in use.
After getting a big dosage of history we then spent the evening face timing with Helen's parents until Helen's iPad decided to be temperamental. We were in bed by 10pm as we hardly got and sleep on the overnight bus from Hanoi and within 5 mins we were out for the count.
The next day we chilled out and made our own lunch with some purchases from the supermarket saving us a lot of money. Funnily enough, it was probably the best sandwich we have had in a long time!!
We got on the bus to Hoi An, and Helen had several arguments with the bus crew over seating arrangements as they wanted some of us to sit on the floor but we stood our ground as we had paid money for a seat. Cue a very awkward journey! They really do not treat us westerners well.
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