Vietnam - Hue and Hoi An

Hue, the old imperial capital of Vietnam until 1945. For this reason my stay here was filled with lots of walking around and learning of Vietnam's old imperial history. My first day was a very memorable one. The date was November 5th (as you can tell I'm a little behind on my blogging but that's beside the point) meaning it was November 4th in the US. Once I got to my hotel room I immediately put on the television and fortunately had CNN. I was lucky enough to watch about an hour of the election unfold until Obama was announced as the next president elect of the United States. So I left my hotel room on my way to the citadel with a huge smile on my face. I spent most of the day walking around there and admiring its beautiful architecture and learning more and more about Vietnam's history. Unfortunately there are parts of the citadel that were ruined because of bombing during the Vietnam war, another part of history I have been learning more about since my stay here.

I was determined to celebrate that night and went out with a friend I met at the hotel who was meeting up with some other friends. Our group ended up being 5 Dutch, 1 French, and 2 Canadians and each drink we had was for Obama. It was a fun night to say the least.

The next day I went on a half day tour in order to see the different tombs of the past Vietnamese Kings outside the city, the pictures will do my explaining. Just know that they were more like mini citadels than what you might think of a tomb.

Between tombs we stopped at a little village to see how they make incense.

From Hue I went to the charming town of Hoi An. Hoi An is known for it's old architecture and the many tailors around town that make pretty much anything. To start things off when I got there I went to a tailor to get some things made. But to back track really quick in order to get to the tailor I had a very "Vietnamese" experience....

When ever I get off the bus in a new city I, and every other tourist, is bombarded by guys on motor bikes telling me about their hotel. Usually I try to ignore them but sometimes I give in. In Hoi An I hopped on the back of a motorbike to take me to their hotel and was shown around by the girl who reeled me in. She was very sweet and I ended up liking the place so I decided to stay. She then asked if I was getting clothes made and told me of her sisters shop. She mentioned the direction of where it was but when I made it downstairs she wasn't there. Well there a million of these shops so I just walked in the direction she told me, stopped at an internet cafe on the way, and when I got out there was a guy I had never seen before on a motor bike waiting for me. He asked if I had talked to his sister about his other sister's shop. I sort of nodded half confused and before I knew it I was on the back of his motor bike and was promptly dropped off at his sisters shop....classic.

OK now back to where I was. I spent most of the day just walking around Hoi An, the town is very charming. I later met up with what remained of the group from Hue (along with some others we accumulated) and went out for dinner.

Streets of Hoi An

The next day I rented a bicycle and rode to the beach (about 3km away). It wasn't the best beach day, very windy, so I just hung out at a little restaurant on the beach and read my book and had a few beers. On the way back to town I tried to find little side streets to get lost on which was fun. Then that night I hopped on an overnight bus headed for Nha Trang which is the next entry to come....

Beach at Hoi An

One of the side streets I explored