From Hue, Central Vietnam—Eager faces (Saturday, 21 June, 2008: 6pm)

I am really behind in my writing (thanks to some computer problems) and I unfortunately need to summarize the events from the past several days, but today was so quirky I thought it deserves a more thorough description.

Seth and I got up for another early-morning run (about 5am). On our way out the door we passed the lobby where the four or five hotel workers were fast asleep on a few blankets on the floor. One quickly jumped up and opened the door for us to exit. I noticed this routine at a few of the other hotels we stayed in, where the person working the front desk would sleep in the lobby and be on 24hr duty. This time it seemed a little sillier because there are five workers, and throughout the day they all seem perpetually bored out of their minds. If I would enter the lobby late at night sometimes I would catch them playing games on the computer, and when they noticed me they would quickly stand up and sit on a nearby chair and just stare at nothing. Or they would be watching TV, and if someone entered the room they would mute it or turn it off. If I sat at the computer, one would quickly bring me a glass of water, and when I would stand up another would rush over and take the empty cup from me. I want to tell them to relax, but that would also seem a bit awkward. Why do they need five workers on call 24 hours a day?

We went for a run along the inside of the Citadel, which was much shadier and cooler (thanks to the river) than what we dealt with yesterday. After cleaning up and having something to eat (we even were able to stay in our upgraded hotel room, breakfast included, for a reduced cost), we brainstormed for things to do and see for the rest of the day. Originally we wanted to go to Bach Ma National Park to do a few hikes (so far we have not been able to do any real tramps since leaving Kakadu), but we would have had to hire a private car for the day to get us out there, and with the hotel earning commission on booking the transportation, it would have been very expensive (even by US standards). We settled on exploring a few of the tombs and pagodas the the city is famous for. Hue was at one time the capital of Vietnam and in the 19^th century to mid-20^th century was home to the royal family (the Nguyen dynasty); the emperors from this dynasty were buried in tombs—sometimes as large and elaborate as castles—scattered around the city and along the river for miles to the south.

Running just inside The Citadel (Hue)

Hue

Delicious green bananas (Hue)

We left the hotel and found a few xe om (motorbike) drivers, which felt weird after getting so annoyed at their persistence in tying to get us to ride with them yesterday. We bargained with one man for quite a while, and he eventually agreed to take the two of us around with one of his comrades on two separate bikes to two sites for 2.5 hours, then drop us off in town for about $4.50 total (80,000 dong). He had initially demanded about $18 (300,000 dong), but we told him we didn’t have much money on us, which was true, and after one of the men saw Seth’s ripped up straw hat, I think we earned ourselves a little sympathy. We actually bumped into Bargain-Queen Mom at one of the tombs we went to and discovered Seth and I got a much better deal than her and Dad, and we felt a little bad for our drivers (so we tipped them well).

The motorbike rides were a really fun way to travel short/medium distances (a total of about 16km) in a relatively short amount of time, and we still got to see quite a few interesting things along the way, like giant cemeteries and rural back roads, plus we got to be a part of the weaving and winding traffic. As a bonus, the two drivers were really nice, jovial, and very importantly, drove safely. Seth's driver even taught him a few new sayings in Vietnamese (most of which had to do with beer).

The first site we visited was the tomb of Tu Duc—the Vietnamese version of King Tut—yet this tomb does not actually hold his body; his actual burial site was kept secret. (The 200 or so servants who buried him were subsequently beheaded.) We explored the massive grounds, and though it was built around 1865, like the Citadel, the ruins already looked overgrown, cracked, and ancient. It was still fun to tramp through the beautiful enclosure and imagine what it looked like when it was used by Tu Duc when he was still alive. (Yes, he built it for himself to enjoy before death.)

Tu Duc's tomb

Tomb of Tu Duc

The tomb

Tu Duc's stone warriors

Tu Duc's stele

The xe oms then took us across the Perfume River to Thien Mu Pagoda, renowned for its seven-story tower, massive bell, many different images of Buddha, and gigantic marble turtle holding a stele (I really like those turtle-stelae). I would have liked to poke around a bit more but the heat and sun were really nasty and our drivers were waiting, so we pushed things along a bit more than usual.

Thien Mu Pagoda

Three Buddhas

Stele

More Buddhas (I think?)

The car that brought a Buddhist monk to Saigon, where he burnt himself alive (in lotus position) in protest for religious freedom

The drivers dropped us off near the Dong Ba Market, and we left them with extra money for bia (beer). We hopped into the Co-Op Market to fill our bottles with water from the food court, then we poked around the outdoor market looking for lunch. Why is it when we are actually looking for food we have a hard time finding something decent, when any other time we seem to be surrounded by appealing eateries? We wandered around for quite a while, and since it was getting late (nearly 2pm) most little road-side stands had packed up. During this search we bought some of these amazing, crazy brown fruits that look like big kiwis but taste like brown sugar (*insert name here*)—they were near the very verge of being over-ripe, and the woman was selling them for super cheap (about $0.25 per kilo), so we stocked up on those puppies. They are typically worth their weight in gold (and they would later prove to be a lucrative bargaining tool).

Dong Ba market, where you can get just about anything

We took our chances for food down a back road and still had no luck—not only was it full of dentist shops and electronic stores, but it was extremely hot and we were thirsty. After turning a corner, we jumped on the first place that sold recognisable food. The meal turned out to be crap (at least mine did—one of the few pretty bad meals we have had so far), but the husband was totally mad. He was nuts about America and wouldn’t stop chatting with Seth long enough for Seth to eat his soup. It didn’t help that Seth used the man as another tool to help him learn new words in Vietnamese!

After lunch we were still hungry and stopped at two different stands for lots of che Hue (a bean/jelly/fruit/coconut-milk snack that is typically served in a tall glass over ice), then we reckoned up the rest of our money—we ran out yesterday and in the morning borrowed a small amount from my parents, just enough for the day—and planned to blow it at the markets. We bought a giant bunch of mini bananas (for about 50 cents), 100g of Vietnamese coffee, which is roasted in butter (also for about 50 cents), sesame cakes (a Hue specialty), and a few sweet buns. After the spending spree we swung by the indoor market food court to top off our water, and as I was returning from the loo I saw a teenage kid standing just a few inches behind Seth, looking into the large hole in his hat, which he had hanging down over his back. The kid saw me watching him stare at Seth’s hat, and he ran back to a table full of his friends and they all started to crack up laughing. Seth had no idea any of this took place!

Ultra che Hue

It was getting late, so we started to walk back to the hotel. Along the way a young girl (maybe 10 or 11) tried to sell us silk, painted cards for 5,000VND each. Despite our efforts, she wouldn’t let us alone and we tried to tell her we didn’t have any money. We emptied our pockets and Seth pulled out two small coins equaling 1,500VND (about 10 cents), a folded up map of Hue, a wad of tissue, and mini plastic spoon. She seemed disappointed and incredulous but noticed the bag of brown fruits he was holding and asked to trade a card for one piece of fruit and the 1,500VND. After a long deliberation (it was a tough call, particularly since the fruit is so delicious and we were determined to eat them all within the next day), we decided to part with one of our five remaining brown things and a few cents in exchange for a lovely card. Deep down, I think the little girl got the better deal, but I guess being the rich westerners we felt obligated to extend our generosity (aka special brown fruit) :P

Totally vegetarian dinner (even the "deer meat" in the right corner)

Fruits commonly found in Vietnam: stubby bananas, green bananas, dragon fruit (red skin with long green flares and white inner flesh with tiny black seeds), and sa po che (Seth and I affectionately call this our 'brown fruit')