TravelBlog 2.0: Hue and Hoi An

Hue was a great change from Ho Chi Minh City. For starters its on a river, a nice one, and it was cool and drizzly and wonderful. My friend Natalie and I arrived on Monday morning, and made quick work of settling into our hotel and then heading right out to explore the town. We went right for the Citadel (the old imperial city) and worked our way through the old buildings. It was incredibly quiet, there were few other tourists and the rain made the whole thing feel very peaceful. After the Citadel we went to one of those overrated cafes that are so highly recommended by Lonely Planet. Then we crashed for a much needed nap before trying the local Indian place for a late dinner.



Our second day began well. The hotel had a modest but tasty buffet to offer. After fueling up on Vietnamese coffee we headed out. We found a boat to take us on a one-hour ride up and down the Perfume River. There were hardly any other touristy boats on the river and the whole thing was very serene. Unfortunately, the only boats the place had to offer were quite large, so it was just the two of us on a boat the size of a rather large living room. After the boat ride we hired two motorbike drivers to take us to a temple and a couple of tombs a little way outside of town. The temple was beautiful and completely empty of any other people. It was essentially a large flat park with raised sections in the middle.

Next we went to the tomb of Tu Duc, an emporer who had 104 wives and countless concubines but no children. It was really much more than a tomb, a small park really with many tombs, and a small lake with an island. We spent nearly two hours there, I think, and explored every corner. The third tomb was closed for renovations so we headed back and wandered around the area near our hotel, went to a museum, found what looked like an Olympic training center, and a wonderful supermarket. Then another nap and out for dinner.

On Wednesday got up early and caught a bus to Hoi An, about four hours south of Hue. We found a hotel and headed out. The old town in Hoi An is a world heritage sight, you can buy a ticket to see a bunch of things and wander all over. And that’s exactly what we did. We saw and old house, a museum, a temple, the market, the Japanese covered bridge, and oh so many tourist shops.



Next morning it was back on the bus to Hue. We got some errands done once we were back in Hue, gathering presents, and getting a couple of skirts made. A long dinner and a couple of drinks. Up in the morning on Friday and back to the airport to fly home to Ho Chi Minh.

All in all it was a really pleasant, laid-back vacation. We were never in a rush to get anywhere. We saw what we wanted and were never in what you would call a crowd of other tourists. And we got almost everywhere on foot, at a wonderful stroll. I would do it again in a minute.