As it turns out I didn’t get any sleep so it was a long night on the train. The other two G-Adventurers in my room seemed to have no problem though Bun pointed out that they were quite drunk when they went to bed. That group is a younger crowd.
The wall of heat and humidity struck as we stepped off the train and I instantly broke out in sweat. We were too early to check into our lovely hotel so we wandered over to the cafe across the street and had some strong coffee.
With still a couple of hours to fill we roamed the few blocks towards the Perfume River. Hue appears to be quite a pretty city and somewhat less crazy than Hanoi. Back towards the hotel to find the wonderful Ushi restaurant where we had scrumptious rice pancakes.
By the time we finally got our rooms we were in dire need of showers.
A bus picked us up about an hour or so later to take us to the Imperial Citadel a UNESCO World Heritage site. Hue was the seat of the King of Vietnam of the Nguyen dynasty until he abdicated in 1945 handing over to the communist regime of Ho Chi Minh. We visited the palace (complete with moat) which is under restoration since it was severely damaged during American bombing raids. It is a huge sprawling complex where the king and his concubines had once lived a strictly ceremonial life.
The bus loaded us up again and took us off to the Tiên Mu Pagoda found on the grounds of a Buddhist monastery. The impressive pagoda is seven stories high. The grounds and buildings were beautifully kept by the monks with waterfalls and pools filled with koi.
Our last visit was to the Royal Tombs – a place in need of much restoration but seemed almost sacred. Of course, the serenity of the place may be simply due to the fact that we were the only ones there.
Back to the hotel to rest up a bit and then get ready to go out for supper. Bun had recommended a place for a number of dishes but his favourite was the crispy noodles. They were wonderful! I had mine with a chicken and vegetable sauce and even managed to eat the whole meal with chopsticks.
So now I am back in the room feeling the exhaustion of the past couple of days. I think this may be a Benadryl night just to make sure I sleep.