Where are D and B?: Onto Hue...

Hue(Pronounced Way): Jan. 18-19, 2009

D and I arrived in Hue after a short flight from Hanoi and found our way to our little hotel where we dropped our bags and reverted to our travel books for recommendations on where to grab a bite to eat for dinner. We found a small little restaurant that ended up being fairly good and got some local cuisine and a few beers for around $6 for the both of us (this is part of the reason we roll around everywhere instead of popping, or running!!). With dinner complete, it was time to check out the town for us to check out the town for another beer to hang out before hitting the hay. D and I found a local bar right around the corner from our place and D was pleased to see that they were serving Pastise while I threw back a couple of 80 cent beers (they seem to taste better when they are cheap). We met a few more travelers that had just come from Hoi An where we had planned on going the next day so we picked their brains a bit about where to go, what to see and what tailor shops they recommended as Hoi An is known for their tailors and as the place to get cheap clothes made to fit. Feeling good by now, we called it a night so that we could wake up and tour the city the next day.

(Accoriding to Frommer's, "Hue was once Vietnam’s Imperial City and later the country’s capital under the Nguyen dynasty (1802-1945). In 1803, under Gia Long’s reign, the citadel and Imperial City was built here on a former royal site. The area has since been scarred by wars with the French and the USA.")

(There were many colorful colonial style buildings that gave this town a great feel. You could tell that the French had presence here.)Hue, a city known for the battles that have taken place during both the French occupation and the American Vietnam war, was waiting for D and me with blue skies and perfect weather. We ate breakfast at the hotel to charge our batteries and then took off on the complimentary bicycles that the hotel offered. I tell you what; there really is no other way to explore small towns, no matter where you are, than on the back of a bicycle. It gives you the feel like you are 7 years old again when that was your only form of transportation. A car will give you a quieter view, but you don’t get the same experience as with a bike. I mean, you are more mobile, you don’t really have to abide by all the traffic rules and you cover so much more than walking the same paths. Plus, where how else can you battle with the Mopeds of Vietnam without having to be on one?

Our first and only stop on the bikes in Hue was the Citadel. We paid about 50 cents to park our bikes with an old man sitting outside of the gates and walked our way through to begin our self guided tour. You could tell that like most of these historical sites around the world, the Citadel at Hue must have been a real site to see in its day. The walls were made of what we would relate to as a stucco type facade and were painted in bright yellow mineral paints and intricate designs that set up against the clear blue sky made for a picturesque walk through a little bit of history. The fort was a little bit in shambles due to the bombings that it took during the war and the toll that it’s other nemesis, time, had taken on its walls. Every corner had a brief description as to what you were looking at, and there were plenty of great photos that were taken inside. Fairly relaxing and interesting, D and I cruised through this old fortress for a few hours in the morning and enjoyed the warm air.

(Flag Tower (not in picture) is the focal point of the Imperial City, this tower was built in 1807 and once flew the yellow flag symbolizing royalty.) (There were an overwhelming amount of goldfish in this little pond waiting to be fed yet once again in the early morning. The fish were very large and fought for the food as if they hadn't eaten in years.)(In front of the main palace are two mythical ky lin animals, supposedly, they have amazing eyesight and keep an eye on the emperor--watchign all good and evil that takes place.) Taking fun pictures around the Citadel.

(The Forbidden Purple City: This was once home to the emperor and his concubines. We walked around what remains of the Imperial city. A lot of it is currently under renovation. We stopped by the Thai Binh Reading Pavilion which had ceramic and glass mosaic detailing on the roof.)

A beautiful painted gate.

Gorgeous.

(Thien Mieu Temple below: Built in 1922, this temple pays tribute to 10 of the last Nguyen dynasty emperors.)

(Hien Lam or Glorious Pavilion below has 9 Dynastic Urns in front. The urns were cast from 1835-1837 and each urn represents a Nguyen emperor.)

Yipee!

B by the big drum!

Back on the bikes, we took off to explore this small town to get a feel for it and hit a few side streets where we saw kids leaving school and the Vietnamese girls in their traditional white robes that look so elegant and pristine as they hold their posture straight while riding and chatting together on their bikes. We had found another recommendation in our guide book to eat lunch at so with our, in book we trust attitude, we hit this small little local restaurant called the Mandarin Café. Upon entering, I noticed the photos that covered the walls of this ten table restaurant and how interesting they were. They all seemed to catch the real character and lifestyle of the Vietnamese culture and whoever had taken them really had an eye for photography. I was quickly greeted by a gentlemen who handed me a photo album and said “here, take a look at my photos”. He was the owner of the café and the man who had taken all of these photos as a hobby of his. He sold these in his galleries in Paris and Saigon as well as right there at his restaurant of course. As I looked though this album, the kind that had the acetate that you peel back and stick your photos to, I was amazed at all the great shots that he had captured. D and I picked out our two favorite photos and enjoyed the rest of our excellent meal before heading out to take some more photos of our own and catch our bus to Hoi An.

(This is a picture with us and the owner of Mandarin Cafe.)

(Being inspired from looking at all of his work,we rode our bikes to try and

capture some good photographic shots.)

(These ladies were fishing for a type of snail--so we believe.)

Yeah for riding bikes!

(In Hue, we didn’t have time to take the little waterboats to visit the temples or the Imperial tombs. We also really wanted to tour the tunnels of Vinh Moc, Khe San, and the DMZ: Demilitarized Zone. Quang Tri Province, where Hue is located, saw some of the heaviest fighting during the US/Vietnam war. It was the area hardest hit by the US. Accordig to Frommer's, “Under the Geneva Accords of 1954, an agreement brought peace to Indochina after its struggle with French colonists. Vietnam was divided into north and south along the 17th Parallel. What was meant to be a short term political fix became a battle line known as the DMZ, a tangle of barbed wire and land mines bombed and defoliated into a wasteland.

(Riding the bus to Hoi An.)

(The bus ride took us through some amazing scenery: rolling mountain tops with wet luscious rice paddies in the distance.)

(A rest stop that we took brought us to this large lake. It was really neat to see the boats on the water just peacefully sitting there, but what you don't see is the large pile to our right of stacks and years worth of trash and plastic containers--it's a shame.)