Hue, Vietnam

Hue acted as a good rest stop after the craziness of Hanoi, and was a much sleepier and more chilled town in comparison. We arrived off another night bus (yaaaay) to bright sunshine and streets lined with palm trees, along the impressive Perfume River. Still a few mad mopeds, but nothing as deadly as Hanoi! The accommodation in Vietnam has dramatically improved and we found ourselves a rather nice hotel at a v reasonable price. On the first day we explored the older walled part of town and the ruins of the Emperor's old palace, looking a little too ruined for our liking! It was a shame, because we could just imagine how magnificent it would once have been. In the evening I tried my hand at rolling some traditional Vietnamese spring rolls - much harder than it looks! They were delicious though - for any culinary enthusiasts, the secret seems to be in the herby peanut butter sauce....

Our second day had a bit more purpose, as we'd booked ourselves onto a tour of the De-Militarised Zone (DMZ). This is a must if you're interested in the fragile history of the country over the past 40 years or so. About a 3 hour drive out of Hue, we were taken to the no man's land that separated North and South Vietnam during the war. We were then driven along the Ho Chi Minh highway, which was used to smuggle weapons, and then given a short tour of the Vinh Moc tunnels. This was the highlight of the trip, and the tunnels were so narrow that I could barely stand up straight (so everyone else was practically bent double!). It was hard to imagine anyone living down there in the heat and the dark - there was little ventilation. People must have been desperate enough though, and 17 babies were born in the cramped conditions. After 20 mins I was quite happy to emerge into the open again.

Our stop in Hue was short but sweet, and gave us another view of Vietnam other than the mad chaos of Hanoi! We're now in Hoi An, a completely different town again, but that's for the next post...