The Wandering Chocoholic

Goodbye, chilly and damp. Hello, hot and humid.

After a somewhat unpleasant thirteen-hour train ride, I arrived in the former Imperial City of Hue (pronounced “h’WAY” for anyone who’s wondering) around 8am today. I think I’m officially done with overnight trains, at least for this trip. One of the first things I did after checking into my hostel, taking a short nap, and taking a shower, and dropping off my laundry, was to book myself a flight from Da Nang down to Saigon for next week, thus avoiding any more long overnight bus or train journeys. The flights here are cheap, and it’s just not worth the hassle to take the train over long distances, especially given my time constraints.

That sorted, I was free to check out what, as it turns out, is quite a nice little city. Hue is in central Vietnam, and is a much smaller city than Hanoi. Its main attractions are the imperial citadel and tombs, and people flock here to see them. The entire city is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and I thought it would make for a nice change of pace from the north and from the hustle and bustle of Hanoi. Indeed, Hue has a much sleepier, more laid-back pace. It was actually a beautiful day today, not too hot and with a good breeze going. I finally saw the sun for the first time this trip, which was nice for a change.

The area near my hostel is clearly the tourist district, with French and other western-style eateries, ATMs, travel agents, hotels and various other services catering to backpackers. For sheer convenience, this isn’t a bad thing. I was able to take care of a few necessities fairly quickly, and then I set out on a short walk down to the river, and had a long leisurely lunch.

This afternoon, I visited the famous Thien Mu Pagoda, which is the tallest pagoda in Vietnam with its seven stories. As ABTs go, the pagoda and attached temple and gardens were actually pretty impressive. The gardens were huge, with bonsai and various other trees and plants arranged in a configuration that inspired calm. I got to the temple at prayer time, so the monks were inside chanting, and I watched for a while. After the pagoda, I paid a couple of bucks to take a dragon boat cruise along the Perfume River. It’s called the Perfume River because in the autumn, orchard flowers fall on the river, giving it a supposedly perfume-like aroma. I don’t know how I’d describe the smell right now, but “perfume” isn’t exactly the word I’d choose. Nonetheless, the boat cruise was fun, if a bit mosquito-ridden.

For dinner, I went to a cafe with some of my hostel dormmates. We cheated and ordered western food, which I think I needed because my stomach has been acting up a bit these past couple of days. Oh well, it was bound to happen. Not much I can do about it. After some food and drink, I picked up my freshly washed laundry and went back to the hostel to crash out early and catch up on some of my lost sleep from last night’s train journey.

So far, I quite like Hue. It’s much more laid back than a big city like Hanoi, and it’s very charming. Apart from the humidity, mosquitoes, allergens and occasional flooding, it’s got a lot going for it.