Hue

We spent three great days in the ancient capital of Hue. It is a town the size of Grand Rapids but its old section is the attraction. There are many faded yellow buildings and its outstanding feature is the Citadel. The Citadel was built in the early 1800's and has a five mile perimeter around its brick walls. We hired two cylco's (bikes with a passenger seat in the front) and were driven around. The Citadel was the site of some very fierce fighting during what is called here the American War. You still can see where the bombs and bullets marred the walls.

One morning we took a 5-hour motor bike tour . What a great experience. We were each on a bike behind a driver/guide. They took us outside the city of Hue, riding down country lanes and even on the very narrow paths/dikes that separate the rice fields. It gave us a great closeup view of people working in the fields, plowing with waterbuffalo, handplanting the rice, sluicing water from one field to another. Everything was so lush and green. We visited a small town which has a beautiful wooden bridge over a small stream. There was a local market where we were the only Westerners and the only people over 5 feet tall. Another stop was a Buddhist temple. The other temples we've seen have been in cities, but this one was set on several acres of land with beautiful gardens. When we entered there was a line of monks walking very slowly in procession and chanting in a monotone. Very atmospheric.

The rest of our time in Hue we rented bikes and wandered through the city, riding along canals and through markets and in small neighborhoods. We found it didn't take long to get into areas where people were pointing and laughing at us, especially when we got into a very muddy lane out in the fields.

One of our friends asked about the picture of the woman at the market. Yes, she was smoking a cigar. It is not unusual to see older women with a short cigar stub or fat hand-rolled cigarette in their mouths. They seldom take it out and only occasionally puff on it. We find it quite charming.

One of the downsides of Hue is that the touts were very aggressive. Touts are people who stand outside of resturants and stores trying to lure you in. "Come into my shop," or "You eat here." The cab drivers, cyclo drivers and motorbike drivers do the same. We had a shop owner follow us for three blocks. They first ask where are you from then how long you in Hue and then launch into the spiel. You feel hassled and we have said no thank you a million times. We try to be polite and keep smiling but it does get to feel like a nuisance

We are now in Hanoi--visited the very impressive Museum of Fine Arts yesterday and hope to go to the Museum of Ethnography today.