Hello from Hue

After 4 days of unrelenting honking and motorbike engines, one feels a certain void (or just plain silence) when removed from that environment. We traveled from Ho Chi Minh to Hue, central Vietnam, and though the motorbikes are still a large part of traffic, people don't seem to rely on their horns as much. In a weird way I think I was getting used to the noise. It made me feel like I was part of something bigger. I was in a place where things were happening, people had somewhere to be. In fact, they need to be somewhere so urgently they go no matter which way - sidewalks, the other side of the road, alleys no wider than myself, and around what every may be obstructing their path. We wandered around Ho Chi Minh, captivated by the movement of the 8 million people. The 7 million motorbikes would part like the red seas as we crossed the street, you just had to step out on the road and the motorbikes simply went around you. We quickly adopted what I began to refer as 'the piggy back method' where you cross with a few other people, thus creating a larger mass crossing the road.




No one really seemed to take notice that we were there, except for those who would dutifully honk to let us know we were in the way. (Green pedestrian lights? Mere decoration I think.) There is a hierarchy of vehicles in Vietnam, and the bigger your vehicle is, the more right of way you possess, no matter what side of the street you are on. The motorbikes honk for the walkers to move, the small cars honk for the motorbikes to move to the side of the road, and the big trucks will honk for just about anyone. So fascinated we have been by the movement of traffic that often when we ate out our conversation was non-existent. This would be due to the 'motorbike' trance - the zen like state one falls into when staring at the never ending flow of the 7 million motorbikes.









And so were our four days in Ho Chi Minh city. We spent one day meandering around the well organized streets (thank you French colonialism). We took two tours, one to the Cu Chi Tunnels, and another to the Mekong. Rarely do we sign up for large group tours, so I'm not sure what possessed us to do this. There is nothing worse than feeling like you are being herded from one destination to another. One advantage to taking a tour was that our brains were able to switch off completely which is an indulgent treat.
The Cu Chi Tunnels/War Remnants Museum was an interesting day. The Cu Chi tunnels were built between 1945 and 1976, resulting in 200km of dug out tunnels. Once at the tunnel site, the tour starts off with a grainy, old black and white footage of the Cu Chi people illustrating their determination to be rid of the American devil by doing what ever it takes to fight them. And why wouldn't they fight them when "they shoot like devils. They shoot the ducks, the pigs, the pots and the pans!" It was an odd experience to wander around the forests, tunnels under foot, guide demonstrating a sampling of trap doors where American soldiers would disappear from the world (spikes piercing through them) and then machine gun firing off in the distance. Oh, hungry? Enjoy some BBQ corn while you have heavy artillery aggravate your ear drums. Tunnels are available for you to crawl through, of course enlarged for larger Western bodies.





We finished off the day at the War Remnants Museum (War of One Side Museum). The most worthwhile exhibit was probably the photojournalist exhibit. This area show cased some well known photographs, as well as demonstrating the evolution of photography throughout the decades of the Vietnam War. Grain black and white photos, to well composed colored photos, and then film. The whole time I couldn't help but have this odd feeling of deja vous. Was it because I'd traveled to other war-torn South East Asian countries? Or was it because I'd seen enough Vietnam War movies that have replicated well-known sites, I felt like I'd see it all before?

The next day to the Mekong was a far more enjoyable day. We were contemplating trying to do the day independently but in the end (due to laziness?) we opted to stick with the tour. It was a 3 hour bus ride to the Mekong. The distance is only 84km traveling on the state highway, but this is highway that cannot accommodate for the growing number of aforementioned motorbikes, transport trucks, tour buses and cars. It is slow going (thankfully). Once at the river we boarded a boat that took us to the floating village. Unfortunately we didn't arrive until later in the morning and so I think much of the floating market had closed. But there were still a few boats out and about. We were told the floating market is a whole sale market. Restaurant owners and other market vendors come to these markets to buy their wares. Each boat has a long bamboo pole that sticks out on the front, and from this bamboo pole hangs what ever that boat sells. So we saw lots of boats that were hanging pumpkins from their poles.




After the floating market we were taken to a place where we demonstrations of several different food preparation skills - rice paper making, coconut candy making, rice popcorn, rice wine and honey.




These are the part of tours I usually hate. You get taken to a spot you don't have a choice to go, and the sole purpose of its existence is to take money from you. However, the guide was actually full of useful information and no one really pushed us to buy anything. We have eaten so many spring rolls by this point it is kind of interesting to see how the rice paper is made. And of course we finish the day off with being rowed down the river, forced to wear the traditional Vietnamese conical hat.

From Ho Chi Minh we flew up to Hue, the old imperial capital of Vietnam.



Hue is actually the site of many things. Not only is it the old imperial capital of the Nguyen Dynasty, it was also the DMZ (de-militarized zone). After arriving later than we thought thanks to some poor weather, we made our way to the Citadel which had the Forbidden City build inside of it. This is where the Emperor and his concubines lived, entering the grounds was punishable by death. Hue is well known for its other monuments just outside the city. Today we spent the day with a driver and private car exploring them.















Which brings me to another point about being a tourist. Sometimes you end up in a situation that seems to go by so quickly, you've come out the other end with something totally different than what you had initially wanted. There were some temples Dave had wanted to see, however despite showing some interest in wanting to go to these places, not only were we not taken but we agreed to hire a private car and driver all the way to the next destination Hoi An! The car does seem like the better option. We can stop along the way to some spots we would be unable to see if we took a bus. This did mean that we had to back track out of our bus tickets arranged by the hotel, and now we have to meet our driver well away from the hotel (I imagine the hotel will NOT be getting a cut from the tour operation!).

And like I said at the start of my post, at times it is almost like we don't exist.




Case in point with this picture of Dave at a small back alley restaurant we were told to go by our hotel. The restaurant owners got into some sort of tiff with the neighbors next door. The yelling back and forth lasted a good half hour. We tried to sooth the stress of our restauranteurs with the purchasing of more beer but this did not seem to have much of an impact. Se we sat there trying to figure out the meaning behind the shouting and gesticulating, and all of a sudden a truck pulls up and out jumps 4 people in white shirts and a man in a green uniform (police/army?). In 5 seconds our restaurant when from being very open, to very closed. Lights switched off, chairs stacked and items put away. The strange men tried to take their large restaurant sign and put it in their truck. This is when we decided to not stay a minute later, and with unfinished beer at our tables, we left...hoping that what ever the issue was it got resolved. Today we walked by, the sign was back in its place, and the owner was standing outside with a big smile for us as we walked by.

Tomorrow we drive to Hoi An which is a UNESCO World Heritage site. We spend 4 days there before heading back to Ho Chi Minh. There we will visit more temples, perhaps get some clothes made, and of course watch the Rugby World Cup Finals.

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Location:Hue, Vietnam