Karioke = Massage, Massage = Brothel!

Chilling out on the sleeper train with some of my group.
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After being abruptly awoken by the weird lift/carousel/Vietnamese Karioke-blend music played over the train tannoy, we watched an uneventful sunrise struggling to impress us through the thick mist. When it cleared, the views were amazing – early morning in the heart of Vietnam. We fell back asleep again for a few hours and then woke up as we arrived in Hue. Arrived and bussed to the hotel for about midday and then showered and changed and back out for a quick wander.

We had lunch at the infamous 'Mr Hoais' and then took a boat ride along the Perfume River. Eventually reached the wonderful and magical Thien Mu Pagoda; As soon as I stepped in I felt incredibly inadequate and uncomfortable – as if I wanted to shed all the bags and belongings which were weighing me down and defining me as a tourist. This Pagoda was where Thich Quang Duc worshipped and studied – the monk who drove to Saigon and burned himself to death in protest at the policies of president Ngo Dinh Diem in 1963.

The view from the Thien Mu Pagoda was absolutely stunning!
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On the boat ride back we stopped and wandered around Dong Ba market – which was narrow, claustrophobic and quite unpleasant. Lots of people were begging, particularly with disibilities and disfigurements.

After chilling at 'Mr Hoais' in the evening, we had a special meal under a beautifully decorated terrace in the garden of somebody's house. We had musicians playing music for us; It was a wonderful meal – I for one felt well and truly ‘in’ Vietnam.

In the morning we went to see the citadel walls and palace – replica of the Forbidden City. We had a refreshing lunch at Mr Hoais, and then revolting icecreams which arrived on the back of Mr Hoai's motorbike.

Our motorbike convoy outside the monestry. I'm in the middle somewhere!
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This afternoon we took a motorbike tour of the rural backroads of Hue, which was fantastic! Children came tearing out of houses and schools to wave and we drove through shouts of ‘hello!’ everywhere we went. We stopped at a few places, including the Thanh Thang 'friendship' bridge, an American lookout bunker and active Buddhist monestry, which was so peaceful and serene I found it very difficult to leave. The view from the bunker was incredible, though we were more interested in the snake that someone spotted!

Me and the group outside Mr Hoais.
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Opted out of the group meal tonight to find a cosy restaurant which had an army of small cats acting as hoovers between the tables. On the way back we stopped at a streetside café and sat with a few local lads drinking homebrew rice wine – also known as 'fire-water'!

Coco and I wandered out into the night to find an internet café. We asked directions at a Karioke bar full of made-up young Vietnamese girls and no microphones in sight. Apparently 'Karioke' means 'Massage' and 'Massage' means 'Brothel' in Vietnam! Found an internet café in a darkly-lit Hue side-street for 30cents an hour, and caught up with the rest of the world...