I arrived in Hue on the night bus and swiftly found my hotel which was conveniently located near to the bus drop off point. After checking in, I went to find some lunch at a nearby restaurant. As I was served with my drink, the barman was keen for a chat and actually also turned out to be the local travel agent. We discussed the motorbike ride from Hue to Hoian and he convinced me that it was not to be missed. I decided to do this a couple of days later with Bazza who was flying in from Hanoi.

After lunch I was keen to explore the city and headed towards the Citadel which contains the Imperial City. The city has a wealth of history as it was not only the home to the last emporers of Vietnam but also the location of some of the fearsest fighting of the Vietnam war. It was an impressive site and relatively quiet. The Imperial City is huge and is a mixture of grand restored buildings and ruins on vast open spaces left from the war. I enjoyed walking around pretty aimlessly and finding hidden areas off of the well trodden paths. In the unrestored areas you can see the bullet holes left from fighting in archways, walls and buildings.

On the way back from the Citadel whilst I was walking through the park that boarders the river, I was collared by different groups of students learning English. This time they were University students who weren't majoring in English but looking to learn for their own benefit. The first group wanted to film the interaction and the second sat in a circle around me on the grass whilst I waffled on about Bristol.

I decided to head out running before dinner and found a good loop which took me over one of the main bridges in Hue, down the river, over the other main bridge and back down the river. I ran just over five miles in total but the strong heat of the day continued throughout the early evening which meant I could wring out my running vest by the time I returned to the hotel.

Hue has a wide range of tombs and pagodas for a sightseeing tourist to choose from. The following day I decided to take a motorbike taxi to see the Khai Dinh tomb and Thien Mu pagoda. Negotiations with the taxi rider were lengthy and I could feel that the rider was not particularly pleased with the price I would pay. The first stop was Khai Dinh which is perched on a hill overlooking the countryside and features statues similar to the Terracotta Warriors. On the way to Thien Mu, the taxi rider took me to another pagoda stating that it was as good as Thien Mu. The reason for this is that Thien Mu is the other side of town and shortning the journey would be benificial for him. As we approached Thien Mu, he stopped again near the Citadel, at this point I got my phone out of my pocket and loaded google maps to show him exactly where I wanted to go and told him that this is where we agreed. I doubt he expected me to be tracking exactly where we were and reluctantly took me the rest of the way to Thien Mu.

The Thien Mu pagoda was as impressive as I was hoping and the taxi negotiations were worth it. Built on top of a hill overlooking the Perfume River, the view from the top was amazing. There is also Buddhist temple behind the pagoda and I was lucky enough to see them in prayer when I got there.

That evening, Bazza arrived ready for the motorcycle ride to Hoian the following day. We went for a few drinks that evening to a bar not far from the hotel called Brown Eyes. The sign outside states that it opens 'until the last one passes out'. It was as lively inside as the sign made out and seemed as popular with the locals as with backpackers. We stayed here for a while drinking a few beers and some free shots before heading back for some rest ready for our Top Gear challenge the following day.

Max.