It was always going to be very difficult for Hue (pron. Hw-aay) to shine after we’d just left the beautiful and enchanting Hoi An. It didn’t help that our glorious run of sunshine ended the moment we got on the train bound for Hue. It rained (mostly lightly) all three days we were there with the sun coming back out only moments before we left.
We had read that the three hour train trip from Da Nang (near Hoi An) to Hue was the most spectacular in Vietnam (and to some one of the most scenic in the world). Whilst the clouds and rain did their best to make photography impossible we did thoroughly enjoy the views and highly recommend getting the train for this journey.
Hue has been the centre of many significant historical events in history (the city was the seat of Emperors of the Nguyen Dynasty and was the national capital from 1802 until 1945) and more recently in the American War (with it’s location just below the DMZ that divided North and South Vietnam, Hue saw significant fighting and bombing).
The Imperial City (Hoàng thành in Vietnamese) and the Purple Forbidden City are a UNESCO World Heritage site comprising a walled palace within a citadel dating back to 1804. The Emperor who built the citadel wanted to emulate the Forbidden City in Beijing. However, as with most ancient or historic sites we’ve visited in this part of the world, a bit of imagination is needed to picture what may have once existed. The city of Hue was captured by the Viet Cong on New Year’s Eve 1968. Only 10 of the 160 buildings within the Inperial City survived the subsequent bombing campaign as the Americans fought to retake it.
There are a number of temples and tombs to visit in and around Hue which could probably keep tourists happily occupied for days. Having visited Angkor Wat and My Son recently we felt fairly templed out so selected just a couple to see. We had read that monks living in the Tu Heiu monestary gathered in the temple to chant several times a day which sounded like something memorable to visit. We arrived shortly before the noon chants were scheduled but there were no chants to be heard. Maybe the monks were on Tet holidays! We walked about 20 minutes to the Tu Duc tombs and spent a couple of hours exploring and felt that we had done sufficient sightseeing for this part of the trip.
We visited the main local market (Dong Ba) and were surprised by how relatively quiet it was compared to markets in Saigon and Hoi An. We found it the quietest to explore and certainly drew more attention from the stall owners as there were only a handful of Western tourists to be seen. The cheeky ladies would grab me or Luke by the arm and try to drag us to their stall. When I politely refused one called me naughty boy and gave me a good spank on the bum. I admired her spirit but my interest in purchasing a cheap ladies handbag remained very low. The quietness of the market may be due to timing being the quieter end of New Year celebrations.
We were hopeful of finding some more great street food in Hue (there are some many unique Hue specialities to try), especially around the market area, but were disappointed at what we found – the food and stalls did not look great so we skipped street food altogether in Hue.
On our last night we headed in to the backpacker/pub area of town around the corner of Lê Lợi and Phạm Ngũ Lão streets. There looked to be quite a few good places to eat and drink in this area (while still being much quieter than Pub Street in Siem Reap or the Old Town in Hoi An). We headed straight for Tipsy Pub and Bistro that offered cheap local beers and a decent menu of well priced local and Western foods, had exceptionally friendly staff (even the bouncer who thought I looked like Ed Sheeran – us ginger beard guys all look alike!) and a great atmosphere. We took advantage of the opportunity to have good Western food and had tasty pizza and and beef ragout pasta. The highlight was the free pool table where we had some tightly contested games against Jen and Luke who came out victorious.
We stayed a little out of town (10 minute drive) at the Pilgramage Village. The resort had a blend of Vietnamese and Japanese influences, very spacious rooms (helped by the fact we were upgraded to a Honeymoon Bungalow), an almost Olympic sized swimming pool and very good food (the breakfast buffet and the main restaurant both excellent). We were very disappointed that the hotel sauna and jacuzzi was not free for guests to use and cost $8 pp (which was apparently half price!). Other than that it was a great hotel. We loved the Japanese Operations Manager Miwa who seemed to pop up everywhere. She was super sweet and always blushing and asking Luke if he had more “direct questions” to scare her. When we checked out she had reception call her on her day off to say goodbye – a nice touch.
We (reluctantly!) said goodbye to Jen and Luke and jump back on a train to continue heading North. Next stop Phong Nha to visit the third largest cave in the world.
