Hue - Two days...

Left Hoi An and went to the Marble mountain... so named because it's made of marble... Now of course it's been protected so all the marble carving that is available for purchase is shipped in from other areas of Vietnam that are not protected... We stopped at the de-militarised zone of North and South Vietnam.. originally built by the French and then used in subsequent wars...

We were going to go to the citadel that afternoon before heading off for a royal banquet that night, but I managed to convince our guide that enough was enough... Banquet and show yes... walking around for 3 hours in the heat (temperatures are in low 30's) not good... so off to hotel, unpack, orientation walk around Hue and then shower change and away.... Hotel is lovely with a balcony.. We'd had a little bit of drama that morning, and everyone was feeling a little bit on tenderhooks, so time space and distance was needed.... The royal banquet evening was brilliant... had to dress up in traditional costumes, Adumb and Michele were King and Queen and we were subjects... presentation beautiful but was just a taste of the traditional feasts reserved for the royal family..

Next day it was a motorcycle tour around Hue... Visited a conical hat factory (so named because the hats are conical in shape), an incense factory, (because that's what they make) off to the emperors memorial, then to a nunnery for lunch.. (vegetarian of course) pushy nun, pushed me onto a sleeping mat and the next thing I know my feet are getting tickled by Sonny, and Adumbs saying did you know you were snoring... Sleeping sounds of satisfaction I prefer to call them, in any event his sister Tara said, he was dribbling so "same same but different".. Next we went for a dragon boat cruise down the poo-fume river, (I believe the actual name is perfume but somehow my label is a wee bit more accurate) off to the lady temple (sorry but names are now running into each other) Hue used to be a busy seaport, and this temple / pagoda was built in a strategic position at the head of the mouth of entry... then back into the city (pronounced by all our guides Sonny included "shitty") where we were picked up by motorcycle again... We seperated then, I wanted to go to the supermarket to see the wares, and Dudu went with most of the group to dinner... I had fun... You can't go into the shop without getting all hand luggage encased inside a sealed plastic bag... Was I the only one to see the irony in our intrepid bags that state in Vietnamese "Say no to plastic bags"? And to enter you have to go downstairs to come back up... Ok let me explain, the supermarket is on two levels, but the escalators go up, and in the back of the 2nd floor is a set of stairs that you have to use to get to the groceries.. so down to go up to go down... But despite the size, there was not a lot of variety of produce, just plenty of what they stocked... so a wee bit disappointed, but at least I found a loaf of bread... Everymorning since we started out in Cambodia, the breakfast of choice is: Eggs - omelet, scrambled, fried..

Baquette - toasted or not.

Noodle soup or rice BUT

I just wanted a slice of bread... Yay tasted divine with a slice of cheese, and fresh watermelon for dinner...


Dudu went out after dinner but that's another story.. she had fun, and Adumb woke with a californian in his bed... Surprise... Many of those who had gone out for the evening were not up to getting up so only three of us made it to the citadel that morning..


The citadel has been destroyed rebuilt and destroyed over the centuries, but was the power centre of the ruling dynastys.. The vietnamese (and perhaps other asian cultures) say there are 5 elements. Iron, wood, fire, water and earth and there are 5 cannons representing the elements. The citadel comprises three distinct areas and each area is divided by a moat... Specific entrances only to be used by the Emperor, these are marked in Yellow... According to Sonny, the emperors door which is always in the centre of the buildings was entered into by the French.. This breaking of protocol, however inadvertent, began the war between France and Vietnam..
There were quarters for the emperor, his wives, his concubines, his mother and his palace officials.. His origins were Hindu in belief but his wife was Vietnamese, and the union was a means to bring peace and unite enemies... However he died one year after the marriage, and as was his custom, his wife was to be burned on his funeral pyre.. Her father hearing of her intended fate, came to the funeral on the pretext of honoring his fallen son-in-law, when in reality when his daughter was taken to the river to be placed on his pyre, her father took her onto a waiting vessel and bore her away to safety... This caused another war to break out between them... We were getting really hot and bothered, so left early as we had a train to catch to Hanoi that afternoon...

Tutu and Dudu :o) xoxox