You may be wondering what I've been doing since I last wrote (or not, but yeaaaaa i'm gonna tell you anyways), which was exploring the small city of Hue, located in central vietnam. To get there we probably drove about three hours, including driving over the Hai Van Pass, a mountain road with the highest elevation in Vietnam. Of course, with our luck it was absurdly foggy, and not without a pack of feisty Vietnamese women, or vultures, who followed us the entire time we walked around trying to sell us everything from bracelets to beer bottle caps. Later that day as we got closer to Hue, we visited the tombs of two imperial emperors: Tu Duc and Khai Dinh. Although I know you would love to hear all about the history of these two rulers and about the layouts of their lavish final resting places, I know you'd much rather see a picture of the 5-star squat toilets available for use at the sites.
Yes, that sign outside the bathroom says "Will you please put some money for you making _______". I was actually making pancakes there, but unfortunately I had no spare change. The days adventures continued with our "4-star" hotel in similar fashion. The only thing more intense than the smell of dirty Vietnamese food coming from our neighbors or the construction noises in the back was my craving of American food. When you are served "fish in clay pot" and "sautee vegetable with mystery chicken/pork/beef meat" at LEAST once a day (sometimes twice), you have to ban the words "In N Out" "Chipotle" "Sushi" and "CHEESE" (god help me) from your vocabulary. Because the restaurants that advertise "Western Dishes!" aren't kidding, but a bacon cheeseburger will be two slices of soggy bacon in a bun. And I dare you to find some mustard. mmmm mmmmm goood!
But don't let my tired tastebuds get you down. Hue itself was a wonderful imperial city to explore, like a mini version of the Forbidden City (or something) in Beijing sans Starbucks flanked with beautiful Buddhist pagodas (i see you julia!). We took a look around where all the monks are trained and came across a few munchkin ones, who I took home with me. Unfortunately, only in this photo.
In the afternoon, we explored the modern city of Hue, and then met some students from Hue University for dinner. Along with some interesting conversation, I was pleased to discover they had equally reserved feelings about the mystery rice gruel soup at the table.
Did I mention how much it rains in Vietnam? Or that Hue is considered the rain capital of the country? Here are the latest fashions in rain gear, courtesy of Daniel, Cong and myself. More on Hue and Hanoi tomorrow. MLIA.
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