Hoi An and Hue
Trip Start
Jan 16, 2006
1
16
29
Trip End
Ongoing
Hue, Vietnam
Monday, March 13, 2006
We are back. Have tried to type a couple of times but finding an internet place that works at a reasonable rate is sometimes very challenging. So we left off at Ty taking us to a place for lunch. We ordered deep fried shrimp and also stir fry beef with cauliflower. The beef was swimming in grease and the deep fried shrimp, well we still aren't sure what those were. It was wrapped in a rice paper like netting with a black substance as a filling. Yum. Amy and I took turns going to the bathroom with them in our napkins to dispose of them. So still hungry. But not willing to order any more food from this place. Off we speed on the back of Ty's moto. Nguyen emperors tomb, tall pagoda, incense making place, monks monestary in the woods, military bunkers, and the citadel. We really had come here to see the citadel. It is a massive square walled structure about 4km on each side. By the time we get there we are tired and hungry and don't really care about the sights any more. But we spend a little time walking around and taking pictures while contemplating our next move. We have decided to get out of Hue. We just feel that we need a different place to be as this one is getting on our nerves. Back to the moto and Ty takes us home. I then head off to the travel office to book a half day DMZ tour for the morning and the 6pm bus out for Hanoi. We head out to dinner determined to have something that we can get down and make us relativly happy. So we find a pizza place in the tour book which says it is the best in Hue. So we walk off to it. Closed! Go figure. It just really isn't working out for us here. It just reenforces to us that we have made the right decision to leave here. So we find another place that serves pizza and spaghetti. This has been our fall back position for a while now. The pizza is passable and the spaghetti is good. So we order another plate of spaghetti. When it comes out we only have one fork so I point to the fork and ask for one more. Guess what? Another plate of spaghetti comes out. Now I realize that we don't speak the language but pointing to the fork and signaling one seems self evident to me. I am getting really frusterated by now and I refuse the new plate of spag, finish what we have, pay and leave. Amy and I try to talk each other down on the way back to the hotel. We keep telling ourselves that we will be out of here in less than 24 hours. But in the mean time we still have tomorrows tour. So our leaves at 6 in the morning and will return at 2 pm. In time, we hope, to make our bus out. We leave in the morning for the tour. It will cross the river that splits north to south Vietnam, the Ben Hai, at the 17th parallel. Then on to the Vin Moc tunnels, where the locals hid underground during the bombing raids. These are similar to the Cu Chi tunnels by Saigon but, they are much bigger and for civilian use. Then off to lunch. Disappointment again. The spring rolls are unedible, fried rice tasteless, and the french fries are greasy and disgusting. Pringles and Snickers it is. Since we are on the half day tour and everyone else on our bus is on the full day tour we are done. But we aren't in Hue. The tour operator leaves us at the restaurnat with the comforting words of "Bus come, you wait". So we wait for bus come. And wait, and wait. Until bus come. It is a broken down, dilapiated, window-less piece of junk. Obviously the local transport. We are pointed on and off we go on the cramped smelly transport. Hey, at least we are moving. We pull in to the local bus station and wait. For what we don't know. We sit there for an hour and nothing happens. No one gets off and no one gets on. Then off we go. We stop for everyone who holds their hand out on the side of the road. Off and on, off and on. We must have stopped 40 times in an hour. Finally, we get to Hue. We stop, no where near our hotel, and are motioned to get off. No sooner than my foot hits the ground the mini bus is gone. So much for pick-up and drop off at the hotel. We are now glad we spent part of the day before going around town, as we kind of know where we are. We pick our way through the streets while constantly telling the horde of moto and cycly drivers that are following us, NO. Must leave Hue, must leave Hue. Bus come soon. Sure enough the bus is on time and we pile on for the 12 hour ride to Hanoi. Uneventful, but long. They stop for food but we don't eat. Snickers and Pringles for us. We get in to Hanoi at 6 am in a downpour. There is confusion all around.
