A Hue, Hue ....

Our train approached the station just after 8 30am, by this point my room mates Jamilla and Caroline and I were squashed onto one bunk while our hero Nicola (the vet) kindly escorted the uninvited cockroach out of our cabin!

Finally, we arrived in Hue, the weather was warm and dry, (apparently if the temperature reaches lower than 10 degrees the schools are closed because it is too cold for them!?!) and after checking into our hotel we set off on our city tour.

Hue is a city located in the South of Vietnam, close to the border with the North. Up until 1945, it was the national capital, then Emperor Bao Dai abdicated, leaving a communist government in power in Hanoi.

Bao Dai was briefly proclaimed "Head of State" by the returning French colonialists in 1949, in the Southern capital - Saigon - but this was never to be acknowledged in the North, by the communists.

Then during the Tet (New Year) Offensive of 1968, the Battle of Hue took place and the city suffered severe damages, most of it from US firepower, particularly on the historical buildings as well as the massacre at Huế committed by the communist forces.

Our first port of call was the Citadel, now a UNESCO world heritage. This Imperial City was surrounded by a wall measuring 2 x 2 kilometres, which in turn was surrounded by a moat.

Only a tenth of this huge city has survived, the rest was destroyed during The Tet Offensive, but are very slowly being restored.

As we walked around this vast Citadel, I could feel myself withering in the heat, even so I couldn't help but smile at the fact that I was in gorgeous sunshine in the middle of January, whilst all my friends and family had been e mailing me complaining about the snow back in London Town, shame ...

Our next little trip was a 20 minute ride up The Perfume River on another Junk. I have been given various explanations as to why this vast body of water was named so, from the one about the Princess who would get her hand maidens to spray the water before she bathed in it, to the one about the autumn flowers from the orchards up river dropping from the trees and filling the water with their aroma. But like so many things in this country, I realise there are many answers depending on who you speak to.

Either way, the journey along this calm stretch of water was lovely and peaceful, with the sun glistening off the ripples around us. We (the 10 of us) had the boat to ourselves and we sat back in our seats to look out at the wonderful quiet nature around us ... unfortunately this was interrupted by the lady on the boat trying to sell us all sorts: jewellery, 'silk' kimonos, toys, Buddhas blah, blah, blah ... As far as she was concerned we were a captive audience, trapped on the boat. Finally, after a chorus of "No thank you ... Yes it's lovely but no thank you ... I have one already ... Hmm, lovely but no than you". She finally got the message!

Our last stop in Hue was The Pagoda and Royal Tomb of Duc Durc in which 11 emperors from the Nguyen dynasty are buried. It was interesting to see all the Chinese writing instead of Vietnamese script. I asked the guide we had that day why this was and he explained that when the French Missionaries came over to teach the people about Christianity, learning the Chinese alphabet was too difficult. So they wrote everything in French phonetics. Hence, out of the three IndoChina Countries Vietnam is the only one to use the French alphabet. I should however point out, that another member of our group was told a totally different story?!

That evening we were taken to a restaurant to have some traditional Hue food. But I am kind of reaching that point of "not more rice ... Oh not noodles again" and so I was delighted to see 'Egg and Chips' on the menu!! But Karen looked at me with horror and so I changed my order to Chicken and chips instead?!

And so that was our day in Hue, short and sweet, but we were all gearing ourselves up for our next stop! Three nights in Hoi An! Sun, sea, sand and ........ Shopping!