Hip Hip Huế
Trip Start
Jun 05, 2011
1
114
195
Trip End
Feb 28, 2013
Where I stayed
Hue, Vietnam
Sunday, May 6, 2012
1:30m to 5:30pm. By bus....
Holiday Hotel
5/06 Very, Very Slow Bus
We secured the front seats where we had ample leg room. The driver stopped at every tree plus made a long lunch stop. We averaged just 32kph (20mph), a good clip if we were on a bicycle. We traveled along scenic highway 1, Vietnam's major north south artery. Parts of the road were narrow with virtually no traffic. Amazing.
We were welcomed to the friendly Holiday Hotel with smiles, fresh fruit and lemonade. Our pleasant room had a fresh flower, rose petals in the shower and a fruit plate that was refreshed everyday of our stay.
5/07 Hue – Sick Puppy
I felt very tired, with body aches, head ache and started coughing with congestion. I’m trying to sick it out in bed and just rest.
5/08 Hue – Low BP
I measured my blood pressure and noticed it is now extremely low. I ventured out for lunch but bee-lined quickly back to bed afterward.
5/09 Hue Central Hospital
I'm not getting better after sleeping the better parts of the days and nights. I am barely able to lift my arms above my head to wash my hair. It is time to consult a doctor.
The staff at our hotel has been super attentive and helpful and offered to send someone with us to the hospital. Clary from the sister property, the Jade Hotel, accompanied us to Hue Central Hospital. We first walked in the emergency room of the hospital and directly into a section lined with no frill metal beds. At least beds on my side had some padding. I was pointed to lay down on one of them but the stains on the sheets totally grossed me out and I was ready to hit the high road. They changed the sheets for me. Apparently they haven't heard that a little bit of bleach could go a long way here.
A nice looking Doctor who spoke decent English got the rundown from me on my symptoms. The next 3 hours were spent getting examined, blood tested, a EKG and a chest x-ray. And 5 hours later I received the results. I was very low on potassium and few other related minerals. So I'm going to live... And I am relieved to know the cause. The Doctor said he'd keep me in the hospital. I told him I prefer to be in the comfort of my hotel. The whole ordeal set us back 1.3M Dong or about $60. The potassium replacement pills prescribed set me back and additional 90 cents. The doctor said it would take a couple of days to get back to normal levels.
5/10 Hue
Still tired and coughing and resting.
5/11 Huế Citadel
Today was the first day that I feel well enough to go sightseeing. We walked to the Huế branch of XQ embroidery gallery and workshops (see Dalat entry for the main XQ story). The workshop here is a peaceful oasis that fronts the river. Then, we rode in two Cyclo taxies to the Citadel a few kilometers across the river. Old Huế (started in 1805) is a walled city with a wall inside a wall inside a wall. The center of the center is the Forbidden Purple City, patterned similar to the Forbidden City in Peking. Only the officials could occupy the center. The majority of the buildings in the Citadel were destroyed in the various wars and there are still many rubble walls within the outer walls. Several buildings survived and some restoration is taking place. But it remains mostly open space and not particularly impressive.
Other Huế tourist activities are taking a boat ride on the river while stopping at a handful of pagodas and tombs along the way. Oh, no, not another tomb! We toyed with the idea of seeing the best of the best. But the best didn’t sound compelling.
05/12 Huế Surroundings; Rice Fields, Tiny Villages & a 200-Year Old Japanese Bridge
We rented motorbike and rode on narrow country lanes through rice country.
Life revolves very much around growing rice in these parts. This is harvest time, a particularly busy time. People are busy bringing the rice in from the fields sometimes processing it right there in the middle of the road.
Every able body is doing their part. The rice is spread out to dry on the road or yard. It doesn't matter that traffic rides across it and chicks have their fill too.
Our destination was the wonderful and aesthetically pleasing Cầu ngói Thanh Toàn, an old Japanese-style arched bridge about 11km from Hue. There on the Nhu Y River’s shore stood a marker with the 3 meter line being a grim reminder of devastating floods of 1995. This was on a high point so much of the area would have been 25 feet under flood waters!
The beautiful open bridge was a perfect place to enjoy the cross ventilation with the locals for a bit.
We crossed a narrow bridge and followed the small river. To our surprise and delight, we ran across several cantilever fishing contraptions, the first we'd seen since our boat trip in Cambodia between Battambang and Siem Reap. A guy was just getting ready to raise one out of the water when we pulled up. We got a video of it in action!
We stumbled upon a sizable graveyard bordering on the rice field. Life along the backroads such as these are much more interesting to us than citadels, tombs, and pagodas.
Storm clouds began to build and we got back to the hotel just before the torrential rain let loose.
I stayed in the hotel while Dave ventured out again to explore old town. He made it out to Thien Mu Pagoda. The tall nine level tower overlooks the Perfume River. The tower is with a large temple complex with nice gardens, practicing Buddhist, and residences. It is nice place for a brief stop.
Thank You Holiday and Jade Hotel Staff
The best part of Hue was the super friendly staff at the Holiday hotel. They truly seemed concerned and did everything possible to help when I was sick. I especially am grateful to Clary who accompanied me to the hospital and spent 5 hours of her free time translating and guiding us through the maze of halls and departments to get me to the next test. Her shift at the hotel didn’t start until 3 pm. Thanks again!
