NINH BINH- HUE
The journey to Hue wasn't one of the highlights of this trip. We spent 14hrs on a sleeping bus- which sounds great in theory but believe me was far from enjoyable! We must have booked the budget version and didn't realize- half the seats were broken, people were sleeping in the very narrow walkways, it was stinking hot and packed with about 40 back packers!! In 14hrs we stopped twice- so yes that is a very long painful time when you are busting to go to the toilet!!! Also have you tried sleeping with your knees up under your chin AND your back teeth are floating??? Agh- so maybe we are not quite ready to feel into our discomforts!! You seriously had to climb up and over other passengers to get to your seat- Kerry and I were the last to be picked up so I was crammed up the very back with 4 other people in the space of a double bed- its interesting how all your inhibitions with strangers quickly fall away, as we were all in a crappy situation and sleep deprived...so 5 people spooning was a first for me- when one turned we all turned!
Thankfully our hotel was just around the corner from the bus station in Hue so we dumped our packs and went for a walk around town til we could check in and finally get some sleep.
Hue was great- much cleaner and tourist friendly. We felt comfortable to walk anywhere and didn't go into fear everytime we attempted to cross a road. We met a lovely lady who owned her own dressmaking business- got some real silk bargains.
The food so far had been a disappointment. Not sure why, but we thought vegetarian would be so easy in vietnam- but not true. They eat way more meat, seafood than I would have anticipated. By the time we got to Hue we were hankering for some decent veggies, so we ate Indian 3 nights in a row!! 10 bucks for 4 courses and beers- cant go wrong!!
We decided best way to get around the sites was to join a tour- we visited a few emperors temples of the last dynasty, the Citadel, saw incense and conical hat making. The last dynasty reigned for 140yrs 1802-1945. Apparently emperors build their own tombs before they die, in contrast with the tombs that the average vietnamese build by family members 5 yrs after the body dies. The body is placed in a temporary shallow ish grave until the flesh decomposes, then the bones are polished and then a house for the spirit and bones is built.
Grave stones contains emperors life story, unlike westerners that have name date of birth and death.
A few massages good and bad, afternoons wandering around town observing the preparations for TET, Vietnamese new year- year of the dragon, filled in our 2 days in Hue.