Hue

Well today was our first day in Hue, the ancient capital of Vietnam. Next year will be the 1000 year anniversary of when it was moved to Hanoi.

Yesterday we took the train and we were supposed to arrive around 12am, but instead we were about 2.5hrs late. We dont seem to have the best luck with transport here! The train actually ended up breaking down, making us really late. We were worried about our hotel, and whether they were going to be there to pick us up/have us check in, but they were there and it all worked out.















The Imperial City


We set out this morning just to explore the city, stopping for some delicious fresh fruit shakes along the way for about 50 cents each! Everything is so cheap here! It was a beautiful day - the first that was not totally overcast and boy was it HOT! We walked by the Perfume River and saw the 'floating villages' of make-shift boats that people live in. It was a real eye opener. We also explored the Citadel and the Imperial City. It was absolutely beautiful. They even had elephants there! They were chained up though, which made me sad - but at least they had some shade. One thing I have definitely noticed about the Vietnamese is that sadly, they don't take care of their animals very well (nowhere near our North American standards, that's for sure). I don't think it is intentional though. I think it is because A) they don't get it and/or B) they don't have the resources for proper care. We have seen similar things where animals (dogs, cats, ducks...) are kept in the sun tied up, often without food and most importantly, water. It is really sad.














A floating village


On our way back to the hotel we stopped at the market and I bartered for some mangos and a kind of fruit I have never seen before. These fruit are purple and are white and segmented like an orange inside, but each segment has a brown pit in the middle. Strange, but they are delicious! I asked a lady what they were called but I still can't pronounce it...it is something similar to the word mango, but not.

Anyways, that is pretty much all we got up to today...just a relaxing day. We needed it! Up until this point it has really been go go go! Tomorrow we are off the the DMZ (the demilitarized zone) and the Vinh Moc tunnels. It will be a full day!

Will write again soon...