Hue

From Hanoi, the night train isn't the same as the night tube although the level, and quality of conversation can often be similar. My berth was in a 4-bed carriage and the four beds in my "room" were full, meaning that I had some lovely strangers to converse with. I didn't speak Vietnamese so we shared a few words and smiles as I discovered that the elderly couple were travelling the length of the line, for two days, to Ho Chi Minh City. They hadn't settled in just for the night. In the corridor, I struck up a conversation with a man who was also going to Hue and he gave me a few tips as he had been many times before to visit family, as he was doing now. In the evening (and in the morning), food (soup, rice etc) was offered by a trolley service but I was actually still a little full from my previous pho so I didn't eat anything at all, which I regretted afterwards. I did spend a bit of time out in the corridor to watch the rural scenery pass by as I could not do that from my bed as I was on the top bunk but I did that in the morning as the rural scenery is not particularly interesting at night. The bunk was pretty good although it is not ideal for the top bunks due to the difficulty of getting up there^[1] and then feeling a bit separate from the action.

Pulling into Hue, there were quite a few people getting off and plenty of non-Vietnamese so I was confident it was the right place and the station looked a bit bigger than the others we had passed. The journey time was pretty good for a night train and I felt relaxed rather than knackered as I left the station where there was a cab, arranged for free by the hotel, to take me to the hotel which was a couple of kilometres away. Hue isn't so big but the station is on the other side of the city from the touristic hub of hotels and eateries.

Why Hue?

So, why was I in Hue? Speaking to travelling companions previously, it seemed there was a fairly standard set of places to visit in Vietnam and it stretched, much like the reunification line, from North to South. Generally, there is a pull to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City and the real decision is about what to see between them (as I had planned) and the well-known stops in between seemed to be Hue, Danang, Hoi An. Near Hanoi, there was Sapa, Halong Bay and Nin Binh while south of Ho Chi Minh City was a popular tropical island called Phu Coc was. So what was Hue?

Hue is in central Vietnam making it a pretty good place to administer a country from - and it was the seat of Nguyen Dynasty emperors for almost 150 years until 1945. What that means is that there is plenty of history there, with Hue being seen as the cultural centre of Vietnam in many ways. The emperors were holed away in the Imperial City, which is a large, walled area on the bank of the wonderfully named Perfume River. This citadel represents the most obvious sight in the city although it is not the only thing to be found on the Perfume River. The French colonial period is also represented by a number of buildings throughout the city and the central nature of the city meant that it was also quite an important part of the Vietnam/US war with a number of battles around the city and also within the city - known as the Battle of Hue. It felt like there would be enough to see.

Along the perfume river

I ended up at the hotel, which was Hotel La Perle, at around 10 am and was expecting to drop my bags off and then head out but they sat me down and pretty much gave me breakfast (I was offered the menu and it wasn't charged), a WiFi password and a coffee while they did some paperwork and then told me my room was ready. This was a pretty good bit of service and it didn't really stop there as, throughout the trip, the staff at the hotel were consistently helpful and personable. After dropping my bags off at my room (where they had also folded my towels in the shape of an elephant), I popped downstairs to book an afternoon tour and then headed out for a walk, knowing I needed to be back for 1 pm.

As I came onto the main road, I heard someone ask where I was from. This is a pretty standard thing - or just hearing the word "India" every so often as I walk past. I said "London" and then "England" and he pointed to his jacket. He was wearing an England (national football team) jacket and tried to ingratiate himself. I was just walking about so I was happy to talk, knowing full well that he was trying to make a sale. To be fair, he did make a sale. He offered to ride me around a bit and take me to the outside of the citadel and the pagoda which was probably a rip-off but I didn't really mind so I took him up on it. All I did was make sure that he was aware that I needed to be back for 1 pm for my afternoon trip. He was a nice enough guy and did explain where we were as we travelled around. We biked over to the west of the city to see the famous Pagoda which was actually worth the time. This is the Thiên Mụ Pagoda which sits on the Perfume river and seems to be the symbol of the city. Beyond the Pagoda, which is visible from the river, there is also a temple inside which I found to be quite intimate but also quite beautiful. More so than other temple grounds that I saw I was quite taken by this one as it felt well planted and simple.

The boat ride was pretty weird actually as it was just me on a fairly empty boat and a fairly empty stretch of river. It was a nice little trip and I would have regretted not boating but it wasn't exactly spectacular. Reaching the end, I got on the motorbike and we went around the citadel for a ride and slight tour. It wasn't exactly full of information but it was fun to be on the bike and told facts which I did not always believe. We went back to the hotel and the upsell began. I'd said that I was going to Hoi An via Danang on the train and had lied that I had tickets bought in order to get him to shut up. Even so, he told me to listen to him and I really didn't see what I had to lose so I did. He offered to bike me to Hoi An with a few visits on the way via Danang and also along a scenic route for a reasonable price. It was pretty tempting but I wasn't sure. I went for it and persuaded him to take a lower deposit as I really wasn't sure - it was something that I would consider for a few days.

Out of towners

The afternoon brought a second tour which took us out of the city for visits to the tombs of Minh Mang and Khai Dinh.

The tour bus came to the hotel and I got onto the minibus to join a few people that had already been doing the morning section. The guide tried hard to explain it all but the group was pretty quiet and there wasn't many questions or much chat. I had booked the tour through the hotel and so it felt like an efficient way of packing this in.

The Tomb of Minh Mang (Lăng Minh Mạng) has a great location with lots of greenery and also water to separate the sections of the tomb - which would show the traversal from one side to the next life. The first courtyard had some nice statues of people and elephants but the highlight, for me, was the bridge over the crescent-shaped pond. This was near the end and so was not designed to be seen by many people but it felt graceful and important after what had been seen before. The Tomb of Khai Dinh (Lăng Khải Định) was set in smaller grounds but was arguably more dazzling inside. It, too, was split into sections to signify traversal but had significantly more verticality with the tomb itself being on higher ground. The initial courtyard had the feel of a board game with its statues of militia but as we ascended the stairs, the views across the surroundings, outside the tomb, were spectacular. The interior of the tomb was incredibly luxurious with handcrafted marbles and jewels used t decorate the walls wherever there was space. It was astonishingly lavish and well worth the visit. After the tombs, we were driven back to the city via a little stopover to see incense being made. These stops on tours seem to be pretty standard souvenir stops and they are quite frustrating. The shop was making incense but also had plenty of other tourist-friendly wares to buy. I did not buy anything there and was glad to return to the hotel. The tour was fairly decent but the guide was a bit needy with the TripAdvisor requests which is a bit sad, to be honest. I think these ways of spreading the word on particular guides, via online reputation engines, is a mixed blessing and in the past, guides wanted you to feel happy rather than say you were. You can't improve without measuring, apparently.

In the evening, I wasn't sure what there was to do so I went to a restaurant for some dinner and then ended up finding a cinema in the area to watch the latest (and just released) Star Wars film: The Last Jedi. It was odd going to the cinema in another country and it is always an interesting experience to see the differences. This was a multiplex (Lotte Hue) and I usually avoid them in the UK so it is not necessarily comparing like with like but I was struck by how the lights went on at the start of the credits. I usually like to sit and watch the credits but I felt really uncomfortable with the staff cleaning up around me so I left too. You can make your own minds up about the film, I believe that this particular film was widely distributed.

Rainy Citadel

The next day, the weather was awful which really didn't help, was to be a fairly standard tourist day. I knew it was the day I had to explore the citadel so, in spite of the rain, bought the relevant ticket and wandered around to have a look. It was quite empty in the wet but still more than a smattering of humanity. In the cold rain, it was quite atmospheric but probably not quite as stunning with that rainfall and 2-3 hours was more than enough time.

I came out of the citadel and the rain continued and I just thought I could just buy another jacket. I didn't think to look very hard but there were plenty of shops and they all seemed to sell north face jackets. I got one for about £20 and whether it was a fake one or not, it still did the job and would do the job later if needed.
There was still much of the day and I'd seen the major showstoppers of the city so I went in search of some more minor attractions - the show delayers.

The Hue War Museum was not massive but did have a selection of vehicles outside so I was automatically drawn to it. There were some small exhibits of life at the time and it was an interesting 20mins but not much more. It was also dry. Nearby was the Museum of Fine Arts and, again, it was a pleasing diversion but nothing to really remember although the trinkets were displayed with a lot of reverence. I would eventually have to leave the dry…

I went to the market in order to have a late lunch and walked through the warren of stalls selling food and tat. There seemed to be a fair few food stalls which were for being seated at rather than to take away. I sat down at one of them after being implored by the owner with, what felt like, angry words. I was sufficiently understood to have some cheap broth and dumplings. It tasted pretty good and, more importantly at the time, rather warming. The market itself was pretty standard and there wasn't so much history to see so I made my way in the terrible weather back to the hotel for a break and a coffee.

I felt like the next day would be quite an effort so I decided to stay close by and ate at a restaurant almost opposite. The weather was still poor so I didn't feel like going too far and thought it better to be ready for the journey to Hoi An the next day.

An early departure

The next morning, I was a little wary of what I had let myself in for. I had this idea that I would make sure my guide was very visible so that I would be protecting myself a little bit, there would be some reputational risk. It seemed a little weak but it did mean that he would be wary if everyone saw him. But, as it happened, he was waiting downstairs for me in the reception area and chatting with the hotel staff which put me at ease. He had told me that I needed to be ready due to the time needed and we had to go early but he, and the hotel staff, insisted that I have breakfast which was definitely a good idea as it was pretty tasty.I have to say that the hotel really was excellent for what it was and I would highly recommend the Hotel La Perle.

The rain was a bit weak but still existent so I got a little wet, exposed as I was. And so, I began on the way to Hoi An.

CLICK FOR HUE PHOTO ALBUM


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^{1. I also, rather annoyingly, managed to drop my camera from the top bunk which is quite far... No damage done which is quite the advert for my camera and lens (Sony A77ii)!↩}