Hue in a Day

My room at the Orchid
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Last night I boarded the train from Hanoi at 11pm.  My 'soft' sleeper was shared with 2 girls from OZ, Sharon and Matilda and a Vietnamese businessman.  At about 6:30 am a Knock on the door led to breakfast being served.  In ushered a tray with four steaming bowls of noodle soup.  Then 3 instant ramen noodle packages.  I reached for one of the bowls and was told "No pay more" and handed the packaged noodles.  Soon 3 compatriots of the business fellow came into the cabin and proceeded to have their breakfast.  Using my bed as their seating.  So as a good citizen of the world I scooted out of the way and made my own noodles.  Which were not bad.  As I sat with the 4, the girls were trying to ignore the whole situation, One who has a tiny bit of English chatted me up and then offered me his sweetened coffee that had just arrived.  I took it and made appropriate faces of enjoyment and they were responsive in return.

guardians of the tomb
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I left the room and talked with a couple from San Diego who live in Beijing as teachers in a grad program in English.  Full board, flights home, good pay, the access of adult students fully engaged in learning and helping them - Total posh job.  They gave me a lead on a hotel in Paris.  I returned to the room and was offered O cha or tea.  A vietnamese herbal with an astringent kick.  They enjoyed my reaction.

We pulled into Hue at 10:30 right on time.  I was picked up at the train station by the hotel.  It has turned out to be all what the reviews said.  Very new.  Very nice.  Excellent staff.  Feels like a 4star but only rated 2.  After a hot shower in my delightful room I discussed options for seeing Hue in a day.  The receptionist not only fixed me up with transport tomorrow to Hoi An, my next destination, but also got me a motorbike tour of the city.  Chan was my driver and he was a sweet guy who took me for the whole day.  We went to royal tombs, palaces,a monastary, temples and lunch of the local specialty - a wonton stuffed with beef.  All this for 7 bucks.  When he asked me how old I was and how many children I had and I answered 50 and zero he had a good laugh.  I didn't have much in the way of info about the sites I went to but I took Rick Steve's advice and listened in on the English group guides to pick up bits and pieces that gave me enough info.  Vietnamese design in heavily influenced by Chinese.  Many of the same motifs - dragons, script, layout, roof design.  They just have a subtle alterations.  One thing they use almost exclusively on exterior decoration is broken pottery tile.

The effigy of the last emperor of Vietnam
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The Imperial city here in Hue is an interesting example of how much war and disregard has left the historical monuments of the country pretty run down or completely missing.  There were over a hundred buildings in this vast complex, somewhat reminiscent of Beijing's forbidden city with its square layout and vast open spaces.  Well now the area has about 30 buildings.  Very few have been restored at all.  Many are propped up and decaying.  Only funds through UNESCO are putting it back together.  I would think in 10 years ancient Hue will look so much different.

broken tile Buddhist image on temple
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Riding around on the back of the motorbike was a kick and surprisingly comfortable.  The Vietnamese men are touchers.  Chan would grab my knee when he wanted to tell me something.  My tour was about 6 hours.  I came back and crashed for a while and am contemplating a trip to a hot springs tomorrow before take-off or not.  Just whiling away time here would be fine.