After our Cat Ba Island retreat we headed back to Hanoi to catch a 14 hour overnight train to Hue. The journey went amazingly well and we woke up near the central coast area of Vietnam. Hue was once the political capital of Vietnam and from 1802-1945 it was home to 13 emperors of the Nguyen Dynasty.
The Perfume River in Hue.
Hue is home to a former moated and walled imperial city. Further inside is a citadel within a citadel, the imperial enclosure where the emperor carried out his official functions.
Some boys fishing the moat
The expansive grounds within the first wall.
Hoi An seemed to be the tourist capital of Vietnam with more camera touting, matching t-shirt wearing families per square block than anywhere else. The beautiful and tranquil old town boasts wonderfully maintained huge houses (more like miniature complexes) which were once belonged to the wealthy classes. These days many of the great mansion homes now house the tailor shops and art studios Hoi An has become known for. There are literally whole streets of tailor shops with store fronts bursting with well-dressed mannequins, offering to turn around almost anything you could think to have made within a matter of 12-24 hours. With returning to the real world in mind, Sue had a suit made and Graham a couple of dress shirts tailored. Between fittings we managed to rent some bikes to see the sites around town and relax on the beach a few miles out of town. Cutting short our beach time to make it back in time for our meetings with various tailors was a bit of an odd feeling and quite all together contradictory to our typical backpacker schedule (wake up, eat, wander around, eat, visit impressive/historic sights, wander, eat….etc.)
Some wee ones practicing martial arts. Some looked to be as young as 5 and quite cute (I'm sure they'll grow up to be fearsome)
Some fresh Vietnamese spring roles.
The beach a short bike ride out of town. Surprisingly nice and rather deserted.
The boats lined up eager to whisk a tourist off on a river cruise.
Giant incense coils lit by temple goers to keep their prayers going strong for days or weeks, depending on how big a coil you buy....
Practicing their dragon dance, drums and all.
Half of Sue's prudent purchase, watch out business world, she's coming back (in a couple months....and probably without the Chaco sandals)
Wait! Go back! I want a new suit too!
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