Hue, Vietnam

After reading terrible reviews about both the sleeper buses and night train from Hanoi to Hue (10-14 hour ride) we opted to fly from Hanoi to Hue (1 hour flight).  We stayed at the Hue Holiday Hotel, with a nice room and good service.  There were even rose petals scattered around the room!  The DSL didn’t work in the first room we were given, so they let us change rooms to one where the internet worked.

On our one full day in Hue it was drizzling, so we purchased thin plastic rain ponchos on our way walking to the Citadel, an old city area fenced in by a brick wall, with another walled area inside called the “Imperial Enclosure.”  It was quite beautiful wandering around inside the Imperial Enclosure.  It was a maze of old buildings, lakes, and gardens.  We took as many photos as we could, but we had to keep putting the camera away, so it wouldn’t get ruined by the rain.

We’d hoped to also take a boat ride to one of the tombs, the other main tourist site in Hue, but with the drizzling rain and George still feeling ill we decided to spend the rest of the afternoon at the hotel.  For dinner we went to Blooms, right down the alley way.  The restaurant helps train disadvantaged students, to give them the chance to have a career in the restaurant business.  I ordered one of the set menus, and the food was some of the best I’ve had during our stay in Vietnam!