A day in Hue

The Canh Tien Guesthouse is based in the middle of town, and is perfectly adequate for $8/night. I have a double bed, a TV with CNN, and some resident fauna - a pair of lizards! I watch with amusement as they scamper across the walls, and hope there isn't a resident snake around too trying to catch them.

With my trusty $1 poncho from Payless Plastics I wander around the streets near my hotel trying to get a feel for the place. Hue has a nice ambience to it - extensive grassy areas beside the Perfume River, with lots of sculptures. The streets are much less crowded than Hanoi, and the bit of breeze accompanying the rain blows what little pollution there is away. The markets are similar, and of course there are motos and cyclos to be had (or fended off) at every corner.

The river is swollen, but not really in flood - though clearly it's been a bit higher a few days before. Too rough to take a boat trip though. There are way too many Western-style eateries here - I scour the place looking for a cheap restaurant full of Vietnamese, and eventually find one. Stir-fried beef with veges, ginger & lemon-grass is excellent. The meal plus a bottle of the local beer comes to 50,000 dong ($3) - can't complain about that.

Speaking of beer, I haven't found a Vietnamese beer I haven't liked! They're all lagers, but all perfectly acceptable. The only bad experience was in Lao Cai where I chose a Chinese beer from just across the border - weasel piss!

With a full day in Hue as well, I take the opportunity to see some of the sights. The Imperial Citadel across the river is a must-see - amazing buildings, ancient 20-tonne cannons (never fired in anger), throne room and gardens. Could do with a bit of maintenance though. The walls and outside tiles have centuries of embedded grime and mould, and the whole thing could do with a damned good water blasting - or even just a decent scrub. Instead of actually cleaning the tiles, they just put up a little sign - "Caution - slippery". About as lethal as the path to your front door, Nik.

Next on the agenda was the Thien Mu Pagoda - about 4km west along the river. It wasn't raining much, so decided to walk it - you see a lot more that way, and can stop for photos at any time. The moto riders thought I was crazy though. The pagoda was very pleasant with extensive grounds, but unfortunately I couldn't go inside as it was under renovation. No worries - plenty seen already, and lots more to see on my travels.

While walking back in to town I came across the first stall selling war memorabilia - American water canteens, knives, a compass, and identification tags. They looked pretty genuine - some of the knife blades had nearly rusted through. I wasn't interested in buying anything - but my mind did go back 40 years to when this city was a battleground. I watched "Full Metal Jacket" before leaving - it was set in Hue and up the Perfume River. Fortunately the war is now ancient history, and there's no animosity to Westerners at all. Time heals a lot of wounds.

I stop in at the DMZ Bar for a beer to collect my thoughts, and plan the next leg of my trip. Tomorrow morning I take the 8am bus down through Da Nang and China Beach to Hoi An. I'll be sure to have the Rolling Stones "Paint it Black" ringing in my ears as I'm passing through.