After spending another day doing practically nothing in Hanoi, the bus was late to take us to Hue. In fact it was SO late that we couldn't get picked up from the Hostel, we had to rush through town in the rain to another meeting point and grab it from there. I was not pleased as I was sweating off my body weight carrying both my bags tearing across town. After boarding the bus I realised it was just as bad as the one from Vientiane to Hanoi except it had a double layer of beds so was like a small prison at the back once we had all been bundled into it.

About 14 hours later and we'd arrived in Hue and the service was better as I was taken directly to the Backpackers Hostel I was staying in. Breakfast and a shower later, I met an American girl from San Diego called Caroline who asked if we could tour some of the town together. She was on a bit of a tight schedule as she was leaving tomorrow but I hoped we'd not have to rush through everything. After hiring a couple of bicycles we went riding over to the Citadel.

The Citadel is a very big compound in the middle of Hue and contains a lot of old disused Royal and Military buildings. You can tour most of them and randomly there is even a place where you can dress up like the King or Queen (your choice...) and have your picture taken on a mock thrown...too cheesy for me so we walked round taking random pictures before deciding on what to do next. In a moment of genius the bike company had only given us one lock so we had to go back to the hostel to get mine. I think Caroline was a little concerned that the bike watching people (at the bike park) had ripped us off and also that our bikes weren't going to be there when we came back...some faith required I think!

I actually decided to join her on her mission to make it to one of the closest Tombs of the Kings in Hue. The lady behind reception said it was about 7 km away which is a breeze as I do that at home with no problem. However...it's much hotter than home and the directions were some what vague that it took over and hour to get there from the centre of town. I think we also soon learnt that what the Vietnamese consider to be a roundabout actually looks nothing like what we would! Cycling in Hue is also fun since you tackle the hills on a bike with no gears!

Walking round the Tomb of Tu Duc was nice, as it was already later in the afternoon most of the tourists had come and gone already so it was quiet. I think my favourite part would have been the wooden stilted hut over looking the small lake which was covered in pink lilies. A while later and we had to get going again, despite both of us feeling a little tired the bikes had to be back at the shop by 6 pm. The journey on the way back as with anything always seems quicker than the way there. Knowing where to go this time we made it back pretty quick.

When I got back I was on a mission to Skype home and Caroline offered me the use of her netbook which was very nice of her. I spoke to home for a bit and of course ended the conversation as always with 'time for the pub!' Caroline was rather tired so I went out to a bar called Octop**** with a couple of people I had met on the bus to Hue. Jackie (German but been living in Australia for the past 9 years) and Bruno (Canadian...he got a bit upset as I thought he was American...). The bar was fun and it got rather rowdy as it became a competition between the Westerners and the Vietnamese playing pool! Well that and the fact that happy hour is 5 hours long! I am not sure what I will do tomorrow but will be getting the bus to Hoi An the following day.

The picture is of me standing outside The Citadel.