Hue - A very wet Imperial City

So after our "little" train trek, we got to Hue. Now as we stepped off the train, we were greeted by some rain, nothing that hardened veterans of English weather couldn't cope with. One thing you notice when roaming around Hue and its souvenir shops and restaurants is the constant though discreet smells of dampness and sewers. Our guide book pointed out that a lot of visitors leave Hue earlier because of the bad weather. But we thought that a little bit of sky water wasn't going to deter us from visiting the many historical sites scattered in and around the city. Unfortunately we were right in the middle of the wet season, as we discovered on our first morning when it had rained heavily non stop all night and the streets were flooded up to knee level! But we didn't let a bit of water hinder our visit and waded quite happily with the locals, as it didn't seem to bother them one bit and life continued as normal. Hue is also known for its Imperial Cuisine, an apparently more refined form of Vietnamese cuisine. So for the foodies that we are, the prospect of dinning in Imperial eateries was very exciting. One of the restaurants we went to, called Lac Thien, is run by a family of deaf and mute! Their food was fantastic and the owner offered us a wooden bottle opener, on the condition that we post him photos using it in different parts of the world. I guess it was their way of travelling. Compared to Hanoi, we noticed a far more relaxed atmosphere quite different to the frenzy experienced before. Roads are safer to cross, though you still have to look the driver in the eyes, less beeps and honks and less crowds saturating the pavements. It had a far more provincial feel and unfortunately came with the undesired side-effect of being constantly pointed and giggled at due to our rather large western frame... But we kept our heads high and for the few ruder men we replied by wriggling our little fingers alluding that their manly hood wasn't stuff of legends... As mentioned earlier, Hue is where Vietnam's Emperors were seated, though they were mere puppets of the occupying French regime. Nevertheless a Forbidden Purple Citadel had been built right on the banks of the Perfume river, so called as just before the wet season starts, flowers similar to water lilies open up and apparently release a rather sweet smell. Alas it wasn't for us to discover the delightful fragrance, being subjected instead to the rather less pleasant one of post inundation raw sewage. We didn't visit the citadel, at least this time, but unknown to us then, we were to unexpectedly return to Hue a week later, but this is a different story... We participated in one of the most thrilling guided tours we've ever done. We saw amazing imperial mausoleums, pagodas with chanting and praying Buddhist monks and witnessed some fascinating aspects of country life Vietnamese style outside Hue. We felt the wind in our hair, smelt the odours of country life, good and bad as well as experienced the whole tour in wonderful surround sound. How, you ask, did we experience such things sat in an air conditioned tour bus... Well actually we weren't on a bus tour, but chose after careful consideration to join a scooter guided tour. At first when I heard about it I was rather reticent, having seen the fondness of Vietnamese bikers for not wearing any helmets. But after reading so many positive reviews from westerners we gave our $7 to Misses Thu, the organizer, for the tour and "wow!" was the only word I could say when the tour ended. It was worth every single penny, or cent, of it. And best of all the drivers we sat behind were very safe and made us all, including themselves, wear helmets! Some of the noteworthy place we visited were the Thien Mu and Tu Hieu Pagodas (Buddhist temples) and Tu Duc's Mausoleums. Thien Mu is home to 40 or so monks, the oldest being 96 whilst the youngest apprentice is 7! An orphan adopted by the monks. The Pagoda is more known for its symbol of resistance against the 60's southern government, puppet to the USA. President Diem's regime was staunchly catholic and opposed and persecuted Buddhists... As a protest and to make the world aware, the Venerable Thich Quang Duc, one of the Pagoda's monks, travelled to Saigon, doused himself in petrol and set himself alight in front of parliament, whilst remaining still in the lotus position. The photo taken has become one of the famous pictures relating to the Vietnam War, or the American War as they call it rightly so here. Among the beautiful buildings that make up the Pagoda, one houses the car, a blue Austin, which was used by the monk to travel to Saigon. Moreover they keep his heart in a jar somewhere on the grounds... We also went Tu Hieu Pagoda, in the country, and sat in the temple whilst listening to monks chanting. It was most hypnotic and the fact that it was a misty day added to the enchanting spectacle. Tu Duc's mausoleum is where this emperor is buried. It also served him when he was alive as a retreat from the Forbidden Purple City. Not only did he enjoy writing poetry among the beautiful forest, he also entertained no less that 123 concubines, who were all housed there too! The reason he had so many is that he never fathered any heir, blaming every time his newest conquest. Something tells me than the problem didn't lie with the women though! Despite the wet weather, Hue provided us with some fascinating insight into Vietnamese life and food and... water! Next a bus trip to Hoi An, a small fishing town that his renowned for its fantastic cuisine (again, it's all about food with me!). JM