Hue, Vietnam

Riding back to the hotel in a taxi.

Hue Airport to Jade Hotel

To continue my story from last time (even though it won't line up with the photos...), we arrived in Hue and caught a taxi from the airport to our hotel with a few people we had met on the plane.  Sitting in the back seat I was all of the sudden overwhelmed by all the things I was seeing.  The taxi driver got in the left lane (of the right side of the road) and began driving, honking every time a motorcyclist was in his way.  Honking seems to be used frequently to let people know that you're near them, approaching an intersection, or perhaps just to say hello.  Occasionally he would drive on the left side of the road to pass people.  Lines on the road were more like guidelines or a suggestion.  There were traffic lights but I wasn't so sure anyone was really using them.  In order for pedestrians to cross the street, the rule of thumb is that you just start walking and keep the pace that you begin with and everyone else will simply avoid you.  We had to start small and build ourselves up to the big roads.  In addition to the different traffic rules, the scenery was something entirely new to me.  Almost no signs were in English.  A lot of buildings were in considerable disrepair.  Meanwhile, I'm sitting in a car with a few strangers who I'm attempting to hold conversations with but am somehow distracted by all the sensory input.

Jade Hotel

We arrived at our hotel and were greeted with a hand to carry our bags and a fresh plate of fruit as well as some freshly made mango juice and tea.  We were shown to our two rooms and settled in around 4pm.  (See end of this post for pics of hotel).  The people here are very nice and our rooms include a fridge, AC, a full bed, and a TV.  The rooms are only $15/night per room.  We needed to stave off the desire to sleep so we went for a walk to see the town and find some dinner.

A Vietnamese Man Named Ni

Our hotel is located pretty close to the downtown area.  Unfortunately, we didn't know which direction that was.  We also didn't know which direction the river was so we just started walking in the hopes that we'd find our way.  We ended up on a long, long road that follows a body of water--what we were assuming was the river.  Perhaps we should have realized that we were the only white people in an area that was clearly not downtown.  Off the beaten path, one might say (not to say that we felt unsafe, just lost).  We ambled down the road passing homes that doubled as stores and restaurants.  Typically they looked like an old garage or a tented area with a shack of sorts.  A few people would be gathered outside around a small plastic table sitting in small plastic chairs smoking cigarettes or drinking tea.  We made it to the end of the road and realized that our only choice was to turn back and go the way we came.  At the end of the road we found some cattle which we have seen a few times since (photos are in the last post).

We turned around and began walking back, on the prowl for a place to eat.  We were dehydrated and so tired from jet lag that we were on the edge of feeling like we were drunk but more importantly, we were hungry.  We passed a gentleman who, like so many others, shouted "Hello!" at us.  People will frequently see a white person and shout "Hello!  Hello!" They don't usually do it because they want anything, I think they are just excited to see westerners perhaps.  Or mocking us.  But it doesn't usually sound like mocking either.

The gentleman asked where we were from and after a little friendly banter we found out that he had family in California too and he asked us to have dinner with him because he had some time to kill.  He was dressed pretty nicely and seemed friendly enough so we sat down at a small plastic table in a garage-like room and were served by a woman who almost certainly knew no English.  Ni, the gentleman we were dining with, had to order for us.  Behind me a woman was sitting on the ground by a bucket scrubbing dishes and another was chipping away at a block of ice (made with clean water).  The woman who served us returned to a stove and tended to the pork, noodles, and vegetables.  Ni ordered some beers, the noodle dishes, and some cigarettes.  I got bottled water to help with my dehydration.  We learned that he was visiting Hue from Saigon to see his daughter for his birthday.  His daughter was working so he was just waiting for her.  He was a nice guy.

He told us that he flew helicopters in the Vietnam War ("American War" to him) and that he grew up his whole life in Saigon.  He taught us a few things about eating properly.  Leave your beers on the floor when you're finished with the bottle.  Leave your chopsticks resting across the bowl, not in it.  We talked about his family and how apparently we look a lot like his family but we also, according to Ni, look like Buddha.  He would also cheers every few sips and say, "Nice to meet you!"  He ended up buying us dinner and as a kind gesture in return, Greg offered to buy him a bottle of wine for his birthday.  We were still very tired and weren't quite with it so when Ni asked what quality Greg wanted to buy, Greg thought he asked what size.  Greg said "high!" and the woman at the store across the street said, "1,200,000 Dong".  I looked in my wallet and said "Greg.... I don't think we have that much....."  I began doing the math in my head but was so tired I couldn't do it fast enough.  By the time I had come to the conclusion that the amount equated to about $60, Greg had already handed his money over.  At least it was probably going to someone who needed it.  We returned to the hotel and were asleep by 7pm.

Hue Imperial City

Our hotel comes with a free breakfast but we were up so early that we had to find it elsewhere.  We walked up to a cafe and were greeted by a woman in Vietnamese.  Greg and I looked at each other.  Then she pointed to the sign with Vietnamese writing.  We chuckled and shrugged.  She led us over to the cooking area and pointed to the noodles.  We nodded.  She continued through the ingredients and then seated us and brought us breakfast and tea.  That's how a lot of our meals have gone haha.

The Imperial City was pretty neat.  We strolled around it for a few hours learning about old traditions and practices.  The Citadel was actually only created around 1800 so it really isn't that old but some of the areas that were not maintained seemed far older to us.  We found an awesome place to buy art inside actually which we somewhat regret not taking advantage of as well as a few gift shops.  The grounds are quite extensive and offer a lot to explore.  My favorite building was probably the music hall which is still used today.  I also really enjoyed the art that was apart of the structures/architecture.  A lot of it was somewhat three dimensional... you'll have to just see one of Greg's photos of it below.

Second Breakfast

We made it back to the hotel just in time for second breakfast.  We had more noodles, veggies, and meat in a broth... might be the third meal in a row that is the same.  Greg has fallen in love with Lisa, one of the women who works at the hotel.  She often asks us if we slept well or if we enjoyed the food with an expression suggesting she just might die if we don't respond with "wonderfully".  She is adorable.  We chilled in my room for a bit, planning our next moves for Hoi An transportation and for the afternoon.  We settled on a river boat ride to the Thien Mu Pagoda for the afternoon and a motorcycle ride to Hoi An.  We also booked our hotel for Hoi An--fortunately these things can be done at the last minute haha.

Thien Mu

The Pagoda was really fantastic.  I won't dive into details about what the Pagoda itself is about since I'm kind of behind on blogging and those kinds of things can be read on Wikipedia, but we really felt it was a worthwhile trip.  We ran into several English and Irish folks.  Apparently the guide book I've been carrying around is a great way to get people to talk to you, haha.  Two guys asked me for information about the various rooms and objects we were looking at.  A torrential downpour happened as I was looking for Greg.  Unfortunately I got caught in it and was soaked but I really didn't mind so much.  It was a nice way to cool off.  I found Greg and we made our way back to the boat shortly thereafter.

Market

The boat left us off at the market which was quite an experience.  It was amazing to see so many different things for sale.  I don't think I would ever purchase much of anything there... perhaps a banana or a mango but most of the food was sitting in hot humid air covered in fleas.  That's just not my jam.  We saw live frogs with their legs tied up, a lot of fish and raw meat, buckets of shrimp, every fruit you can imagine (especially pineapples and mangoes), and a lot of consumer goods as well.  Deep in the market there were a few places where you could grab a bowl of food to eat.  Greg was tempted but I was not haha.  So we went and found a nice place to have some dinner.

We found a place that was a little more western to eat.  It had a menu that was in English and offered tables and chairs that were bigger/normal sized.  We had some more noodles and mango smoothies before taking a walk around town and finding a cool beer hall.  We decided to sit down there and enjoy the sunset before heading back to our place in a taxi.  This time we were able to stay up until about 7pm.  Maybe tomorrow we'll make it to a reasonable hour... =)

Photos

The photos are unfortunately in reverse order....... sorry.

View from beer hall.

Greg having a brew.  I'm not a big fan of the beer here... more of a mango smoothie person!

Sunset view from where we were sitting in the beer hall.

Little girl's dog.

This little girl was pretty adorable.  She showed us to our table and gave us menus.

Mango smoothies.... yummm.

I think this is a school.  soccer field!

so... many... shoes...

I don't... have a clue... what that is...

It's actually quite common to see people wearing these hats--not just a stereotype it seems.

We got lost a few times in the never ending market halls

Fresh

That's shrimp... just chillin in the heat...

Greg was thinking about eating at the market but I wasn't really down for it.

Greg and I have especially enjoyed the mangoes here.

The market had a lot of interesting things for sale.

Like bosses, we crossed this intersection.

Ended the boat ride at the market.

Pagoda Photos

Getting on the Perfume River boat.  Greg and I had it to ourselves for $8/person.

Found the nice downtown Hue area with all the shops!

100,000 VND or ~$5.  The biggest bill they have is ~$25

Citadel Photos

Room separater of sorts I think

Awesome artwork

Greg and I weren't sure which way to go at one point so we just followed the big flag.  Worked out in our favor!

The Citadel entrance.

Riverfront cafe in the park.

A park we walked through on our way to the Citadel.

Loads of motorcyclists.  I'm sure it will be even crazier in Hanoi.

The Perfume river as we began to cross the bridge over it.

A woman on the bridge.

Tea, noodles, beef or pork I think, broth.  Nice and spicy too.

I accidentally caught her before she smiled but this is the kitchen/table and stove where our breakfast was prepared.

Jade Hotel

We stayed...

Bed and bathroom.  The first day I used the water from the sink to brush my teeth.  Oops?

View from Greg's bedroom door.

Caved on the last day and got something other than noodles and meat: chocolate banana crepe!  The fruit is complementary all day as is the mango juice.

Lobby and staff

Welcome area and tea

My room.  Time to catch a motorbike to Hoi An!  Thanks for reading =)