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We left the hotel at 8am for our city tour. Our first stop was a village in the countryside to see a local marketplace and how the locals live. On the way we saw a wedding, the groom blew a kiss back to Mariela which didn't seem to please the bride too much. I wasn't too interested in the village market, I have seen a few in my time and I don't feel comfortable taking photos of locals doing their daily business.
Part of the village tour took us to a rice museum, where two ladies worked together to demonstrate how rice is cut, collected and created into the different types of rice and rice flour. One of these ladies was getting right into it making sound effects and all which really added to the experience. Definitely amazing to see the process without the use of modern machines. Completely understand why some of the older Vietnamese have hunched backs.
Tiger Cages
This is massive arena where the king and his people used to conduct fights between an elephant and a tiger. If the elephant won it meant good luck for the king for the rest of the year. As you can imagine, that meant tiger's often got starved to weaken them so it was easier for the elephant to win. This once resulted in a tiger jumping over the wall into the kings seating area, making it necessary to add an extra meter to the wall. Although there isn't a lot to really see, and it isn't a spectacular site, it was an interesting history lesson, despite how sad it was to see the scratch marks from tigers kept in their cages trying to escape.
Next stop we got to see how incense and conical hats are made. Once again I think this is something that can be missed, but it was fun trying to make incense ourselves and failing miserably. Although a simple process, it does take practice!
Lookout
We headed up a hill to a lookout that used to be used by the royals to watch the sunset over the river. It is definitely a romantic spot, that Ngoc says the local youth all come up to for some alone time. We got some decent photos but unfortunately the sky was too bright for any amazing shots. Ngoc made good use of Jon and Sara's selfie stick which was highly amusing to watch.
We had a vegetarian lunch prepared by buddhist nuns at a nearby Pagoda. The nuns were having nap time so we tried to be quiet so as not to wake anyone. Once again we had so much food! I am pretty sure people are starting to realise how much I can eat though. One of the reasons I'm going to gain 10kgs over these 3 months :P
Imperial Citadel
Feeling refreshed and reenergised we moved on to the Imperial Citadel. Entry has gone up from 80,000d to 105,000d. This is definitely a must see if you are ever in Hue, if you have a guide the history is incredible. Otherwise just do a little reading. We were there at a good time in the day and the lighting made it easy to get some really great photos. (Unfortunately I lost them all through water damage).
Thien Mu Pagoda
I had heard great things about this pagoda and am so glad I got the chance to come here. It was beautiful, and the garden out the back would make for a very relaxing sitdown if you had the time. I took a few photos, but since there were people there actually praying I didn't feel comfortable taking too many.
Perfume River Cruise
Although this was a relaxing way to get back down the river compared to the bus, I felt this was really a lowlight of the day tour. There isn't really a lot to see from the river and the scenary isn't that amazing (and I love a good scenary shot!) Perhaps if you were to do it at sunset you would get a better time.
Minh Mang Tomb
Green Rice Restaurant
Ngoc took us here for dinner tonight. I suppose you'd say it is located in backpacker central! Very close to everything and walking distance from all the hostels and bars. I made a wrong choice with my food but it was still enjoyable. Everyone loved the food here so I can definitely recommend this as a place to go!
Following dinner I was keen for sweet soups from the riverfront but Ngoc took us all to Brown Eyes to play pool and have a couple of drinks. I can definitely recommend this bar!!! We got free shots on arrival and throughout our time there (despite only buying one drink each) and the staff all speak awesome English and are there to make sure you have a good time. You also get complimentary nibblies while you are there that get topped up as you finish them. After a while it became evident we were only there so Ngoc could show off his pool skills. He is amazing and kept pulling these amazing shots out of nowhere!
Missed out on the sweet soups tonight but I'm sure there will be another opportunity!
One other thing you should definitely do if you can spend the extra time in Hue is to head out caving in the national park. As I was on tour I didn't have time, but the caves are amazing and I really wish I had of gone!!!
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