Hooray for Hue!

Soldiers guarding the King's tomb.
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While the city itself is busy and full of beeping motorists, our experiences in the city of Hue rank on the top of my list for the whole tour of SE Asia.  We arrive into the city after a night train, so we were all a bit groggy.  We kicked it into high gear though for a boat tour to a temple and local pagoda.

We drove out to the tomb sight of one of the former kings of Vietnam who built his own tomb.  It is an area filled with ponds, temples, and concrete guards all arranged in a Fung Shei method.  The landscape is beautiful, and if it wasn't so hot, we could have enjoyed it further.  The group was travelling from shadow/shaded area to shaded area as we listened to our very humourous guide talk about the past.  Amazingly only part of the temple was destroyed in the war, and several of the walls and buildings are in original condition.

A view of the pagoda from below.
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After we saw the tomb, we walked to the Perfume River to board a boat to a pagoda.  The tour down the river brought back memories of the Mekong.  The river is named for all the wild flowers that grow upstream that are used to make perfume.  We docked at a local pagoda to climb the stairs.  At the golden temple, we explored the school and several new monks hiding from our stares.  We also saw the actual car that was in the famous photo of the monk burning himself alive in the protest of the war.  A copy of the photo hung above the car.  It was eerie to see.

A store full of incense sticks!
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After the pagoda, we headed to lunch.  Once full, we boarded motorcycles with a local guide each.  This was the total highlight of the trip for me!  I was paired with our guide from the morning, and his humour and knowledge of the culture fascinated me all afternoon!  We led the whole group of motorbikes through the countryside, through rice patties, past screaming school children, and alongside local harvesters.  It was amazing!  We stopped at one school where the kids sang us a song, giggled over their photos on digital cameras, and suffered through us singing a song in return.

School kids we met on the motorcycle ride in the countryside.
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For another rest, we stopped at a very old bridge that is upkept by the locals. No motorbikes allowed!  On the bridge, an older Vietnamese lady sits and reads palms for 50 cents.  I totally had to get it done.  Her weathered face crinkled and smiled as she described my future!  (Just in case you were wondering, I will be married by the time I am 30, have 4 kids, and not die unti I am 88!)  Sounds good to me!

After my optimistic future was told, we zipped further into the local countryside to practice making incense.  Let me just tell you I suck at it!  It is so hard, and the girls that work there make 100s a day.

Kids laughing at their own photos on the digital camera!
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We zipped back into town after seeing tons of local Vietnamese culture.  It was so nice, and nothing I could have ever done on my own.  We thanked our drivers, and headed to a very local place for dinner.  The owner is mute, but he is known by many travellers for his pictograph of his family, and his special bottle opener.  During the war, when metal was hard to come by, he invented a bolt and wood bottle opener which he now gives to all his customers. Pretty smart.

Once full and entertained, we all retired for the evening for a good nights sleep after the train.  We awoke the next day to visit theCitadel and Palace in Hue.  The wall that surrounds it is massive.  We climbed around in the heat, took photos, and tried to remember the history the guide was telling us.  After exhaustion hit from the heat, we loaded our minivan for Hoi An.  We are off to this little village to shop, order cheap tailored suits, eat, and lay on the beach for 3 days!  Yeah!