By: Lexie and Sam
Today we hit the half way point of our trip, arriving in Hue via the reunification express train. This was particularly appropriate as Hue is the halfway point between the North and South of Vietnam. The train ride was comfortable and fun, but many of us awoke throughout the night to the rickety noise and movement of the train – sometimes feeling as though the train had come off its tracks – which accounted for many tired faces as the morning began.
We eventually entered the city of Hue – a new Vietnamese town for Vietnam Yellow to explore. Our first initial reaction to Hue was how calm and quiet it is compared to Hanoi. A lot of people noticed how many water features there were in the city which gave it a more relaxed feeling. The first thing we did was leave our bags at the hotel. They didn’t have our rooms ready so we went for a little walk to the Ancient Citadel. Hoang explained that the Citadel was built in the early 1800s during the Chinease rule over Vietnam and thus the walled city was constructed to mimic the design of the Forbidden City in Beijing. We learnt that much of the walled city was destroyed during the war, and we were amazed to find bullet holes in the bricks of the Citadel. We are all really keen to explore the walled city more on our bike ride tomorrow. We walked to a little local restaurant called Ushi for lunch. The menu had a mix of Western and Vietnamese food, however we were only given Vietnamese options which allowed us to further endorse ourselves in the tantalising tastes of this country.
After lunch, we headed back to the hotel for some much needed relaxation time. After we had checked into our rooms we were given the opportunity to go for a luxurious swim in the roof top pool. After indulging ourselves in the cool water, we were taken to a traditional dinner where we experienced how the royal family of Vietnam would dine at a formal banquet. This meant that we were all given robes to wear – Lexie and Sam (the bloggers of today) were given the role of King and Queen, while everyone else in the group were portrayed as “family members of a lower class” and were seated at lower tables than the special one occupied by the rulers. During the dinner, we were lucky enough to witness some traditional Vietnamese music played on interesting instruments ranging from tea-cups to an instrument called a ‘dan bau ’ – a single-stringed instrument with a beautiful, unique sound. They told us that the serenading was part of the authentic royal dinner experience, as the royal family found joy in the music and attention. At the “banquet” the food was very well decorated, with a range of creatures and architecture made from vegetables, ranging from boats to birds. The food came out in small platters, presenting a six course meal for the “royal” family to enjoy. Once we had finished our traditional dinner we travelled to the night market by foot to enjoy the lights and atmosphere near the lake.
Overall, everyone had an eventful, yet chilled-out day in Hue. We have all enjoyed what we have seen of this beautiful city so far and are all excited to see more of the wonders it holds tomorrow.
