Hue Out There

Our first afternoon in Hue (after arriving on the train, showering, and getting our bearings set) was taken up with a long walk from the hotel in the new city, across the perfume river bridge and into the ancient citadel of Hue. Though we didn't stop for any toursit attractions on this day, we walked completely around the walls of the Imperial City within the citadel, and strolled along the river front, stopping to explore some of the imposing gates to the citadel. Hue was surprisingly devoid of tourists this time of year, so we were able to climb the ramparts alone and take in the views without interruption from chattering Germans or tour guides.

After some strolling in the hot sun (Hue is far more hot an humid than Hanoi, and we fear this will only get worse as we move south. Can't imagine what it's like in the summer time), we decided we were both starving. After searching dozens of blocks for an ATM (we'd been told by a waitress to walk 1000 meters down one street to get to one, only to find she'd pointed us in the wrong direction), we finally found one, on the road leading back out of the citadel, so we decided to head back across the river to get a couple much-needed cold beers. We stopped at a corner expat establishment called DMZ bar. Full of Aussies and selling DMZ-themed t-shirts, this place definitely satisfied our thirst with a couple Festival and Huda beers (Hue local brews... if you're in the area, stick with Festival). Disappointingly, the menu featured mainly western burgers and sandwiches, so we decided to pay for the beer and keep strolling to find a more promising spot.

A little farther down the block, past several expat and backpacker hostels and, amazingly, a French restaurant rated in Le Michelin, we stopped at Ushi, a Vietnamese restaurant with modern, pan-Asian decor and alluring smells coming from the kitchen. We sat and ate and drank a few more Festivals before heading back to the hotel to check email, rest, and cool down a bit.

That evening, we ventured out a little later to find dinner. Strolling through the neighborhood we were staying in, we came across Phuong Nam, a tiny dingy looking establishment, but where we had our best meal so far in Vietnam last night at a small restaurant stall called Phuong Nam. The shrimp spring rolls and the fresh squid were amazing. Wash it down with a little Festival Beer and it's heaven.

Early in the morning, we headed up to our free buffet breakfast on the hotel's eighth floor. We weren't sure what we were walking into, as we've never had the Vietnamese continental breakfast before. However, it turned out to be an excellent variety of delights offering both the western continental breakfast, and better yet a wide variety of Vietnamese dishes such as steamed noodles with shrimp and veggies, banh (a translucent Vietnamese dumpling with shrimp inside), steamed mustard greens with garlic, and of course, Pho. There was also a great spread of fruits unlike any we've seen or could get at home to include dragon fruit, lychee, and other delicious unidentifiables.

After gorging on the great (free) breakfast and enjoying the view, we again crossed the perfume river with an ambitious day planned. We wanted to see the entire Imperial Enclosure with its pagodas and forbidden Purple City, as well as the Dong Ba market. Passing the Workers Party Serenity Pavilion, we stopped to admire the rusting park of ironically-placed South Vietnamese military vehicles (serenity indeed) captured in the final 1975 NVA offensive. Most of the tanks and armored vehicles had been provided by the US. The signage was far from neutral, boasting that one tank had been “Provided by the US to the puppet government to raid and terrorize the people. Captured by the Liberation Army and the people of Vietnam.”

Serenity Palace

A few blocks later, strolling the imposing moat surrounding the Imperial City’s massive brick walls, we entered the ceremonial gate of the Imperial Enclosure and paid the 55K dong to view its partially restored ruins. Though much of Hue was demolished by French and US bombs in the successive wars for Vietnamese independence, some magnificent buildings were miraculously spared or have been restored to their former glory in past two decades.
We will not even try to describe the beautiful architecture, as we could not possibly do it justice, but we will attach a few pictures of the faded majesty of Vietnam’s Imperial glory. Much to our astonishment, the Imperial enclosure was almost devoid of people. As we listened to the bustling motorbike and foot traffic cascading over the Imperial City’s walls, the juxtaposed serenity of the pagoda gardens and royal residences amazed us.

After several hours peacefully strolling, we left the Imperial City through the same Imposing gate, and headed down the modern riverside boulevard to the Dong Ba market. Like every market in Vietnam (and, for the most part, the entire developing world), Dong Ba was a wild cacophony of people, goods, raised voices, extreme smells, and forests of arms reaching to show off fine goods or pawing to lead you to shops further in the labyrinth of the market.
The market was comprised of a soviet-style concrete building (easily identified from the opposite bank of the river by the enormous COOP sign right next door) with two stories of manufactured goods (silks, handbags, toys, shoes, dried spices, tools, and tin items). Outside the building, along the waterfront, were rows of tarp-covered food stands, selling all manner of fresh fruits, meats, seafood, and vegetables, along with prepared foods from every region of Vietnam. While certainly “organic,” the smell of rotting, discarded fish skeletons, cabbage leaves, corn husks, and fruit skins left a pungent odor in the air. Maybe this is why they call it the Perfume River, as most of this refuse ended up in the water.

Implored by a seller who spoke excellent English, likely as a result of his sister in Seattle, Katie was persuaded to take a peek at his raw silk goods. After vainly trying to convince Adam to try on some “real LaCoste” polos, Katie, in an Oscar-worthy performance, countered the seller’s entreaties about the weakness of the Vietnamese economy in the off-season with a sob story about the universal truth of newlyweds having little money and needing to save. While she may not have gotten the Vietnamese price, she did walk away with two scarves for significantly less than the original asking price of one. For Katie, market shopping is more about the game of haggling, the actual purchases are a nice bonus. The Vietnamese didn’t know what hit them.

After an hour or so fighting off various vendors, we decided to snag another round of Festival at DMZ bar and grab a late lunch at our new favorite restaurant, Phuong Nam. We had another order of the dynamite pork spring rolls, a seafood salad made of fresh squid, mango and shrimp, and shrimp with crispy noodles. This meal was as good as the first, and was made all the more pleasant by a conversation with a business partner of the owner’s. He was a pleasant young father, who spoke excellent English, and was excited to hear about our trip thus far in Vietnam. He told us about his family and some background of the restaurant (that they are the one place in Hue that didn’t raise prices after getting a good review in Lonely Planet. This was evidenced by our $5 multi-course meal, including several beers). He offered friendly tips about the city and great places elsewhere in the country. He asked us about home and our families and what it is like to see and feel snow. And, refreshingly, as a side note rather than a hard sell, he told us that he and his partner operated a motorcycle tour group called Hue Riders that ferries tourists to sites around the DMZ, in the central highlands, and all over the country by request. We would have taken him up on a trip without a second’s hesitation, but we had already booked our lodging and bus to Hoi An.

The jet lag finally came back to bite us, as we crashed early that night, despite our plans to hit the discotheque in the hotel and various other piano bars… seriously, Don Ho lookalikes (intentional lookalikes, we’re not just being racist) singing the hits of the 70s? What’s not to like? But unfortunately, we crapped out. We woke up 17 hours later, feeling refreshed, but not knowing what hit us. We enjoyed the hotel restaurant once again (awesome breakfast Pho) and took a few photos from the roof deck before boarding our “Open Bus,” read “Ridiculous Tourist Trap Bus” for Hoi An, by way of Da Nang.