Hue, Vietnam

Having taken the overnight train in a humid cold air conditioned environment it was a welcome change to walk, even whilst wearing a hoodie jumper, into the hotter drier weather at our next destination, Hue.

Our hotel in Hue was the Asia Hotel Hue, nestled within the entertainment district and it was going to be our base for the one night. On the evening weekends the roads in this area are closed to vehicles and mopeds. We had some free time until after lunch. John and I decided to walk along the river and then grabbed lunch at a bakery on the way back to the hotel. John was chased by an overly aggressive old female seller, but other than that folks were pretty friendly.

A rooftop swim cooled us down after walking in the hot dry heat and also afforded some rooftop photos of the area.

Our first stop was at the Forbidden City, a UNESCO Heritage Site. So far I've found the UNESCO tag to be a pretty good indicator for an excellent spot and this one didn't disappoint. Some beautiful architecture and a rich history made for some good photos.

On the banks of the Perfume River in Hue is the Thien Mu Pagoda. Landscaped grounds, small waterfalls, a 7 story Buddhist Temple and practicing Monks. It's pretty cool. This spot is also where they have on display the original car that in 1963, Thich Quang Duc drove to a Saigon intersection where he burned himself to death in a protest against the persecution of Buddhist by the South Vietnamese at the time. We visited the spot later in Saigon.

Dinner was at the Viet Village Restaurant next to the river, after which our CEO... Forced us to take part in a Karaoke session. I held out for as long as I could, and as all the younger trendier traveller became more embarrassed by our Karaoke performance, I decided to take part too. John knew what it would take to get me on the mic. A sloppy rendition of Boom! Shake the Room by Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, Gangstas Paradise by Coolio and ending with Mama Said Knock You Out by LL Cool J. All very difficult songs for a first time public karaokist!

Next day was going to be our bus journey to Hoi An where we'd stay for 3 nights. But before the bus journey we went a team moped tour. Nice and early, a moped driver for each member of the tour parked up outside the front of the hotel and proceeded to take us on a short tour of Hue. It's my first time being part of a motorbike gang, and I decided not to bring my camera, so the remainder of the photos were taken on my LG G6 phone (excellent during the day, potato people at night).

First stop was the village of Thuy Than and a short talk at the Thanh Toan Bridge. We had a walk through the markets of fresh fish, meat and vegetables and then visited the local museum where we learned about the rice harvesting process from field to plate.

We stopped at a private home of an incredibly talented one armed lady who proceeded to show us how the typical bamboo or paddy hats were made, even showing up our guide on correct procedure, after he so humbly failed to match her skill.

We stopped briefly at the Tiger Arena, though there wasn't much to see. Our guide told us about the history of Elephants fighting Tigers for sport before me moved on and arrived at Vong Canh Hill. This hill was a significant part of the Vietnam war offensive, with a trio of pillboxes still intact. The view of the valley was much more amazing.

The last two stops were an incense and souvenir shop where we bought another set of magnets followed by lunch at a local Buddist nunnery. The meal was entirely vegetarian and bloody delicious.

We returned to the hotel and started our 2.5hr bus journey to Hoi An.