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As we arrived in Hue we soon became aware we were in town just before the biannual Hue Cultural festival. Lights were being erected, signs and banners posted across the town and it seemed everyone was getting ready for a big event. Even the Cyclo drivers were preparing as they peeled purple sticky-backed plastic and used it to refurbish the metalwork on their machines. Following some investigation as to the events which would be taking place, we both agreed it was too good an opportunity to miss, and after shuffling around the itinerary we managed to find a way to stay here for the first few days of festivities.
Our hotel advised us to pay a visit to the imperial tombs during our stay in Hue. Sounds great I thought, a day going around tombs. How exciting can things get? As they were all outside our walking limits we decided to take the plunge and try to navigate there on a moped. During the course of the day, we visited four tombs, to add to the visit to the citadel the day before. It was a pleasant surprise. Each was constructed in a beautiful setting, with water and green surroundings, so even if you weren't excited by the history etc you could enjoy the locations. Despite the tourists arriving on tours none of the places was overrun, and we even managed a few pictures without extra bodies. For the record, the tombs were the Thieu Tri tomb, Khai Dinh tomb, and the tomb of Ming Mang- all excellent and well worth visiting.
The following day we hired the moped again and headed to Thanh Toan, a village, about six kilometres from the main town. Famous for its ancient wooden bridge we discovered a village in the midst of preparing for an influx of festival visitors. The canal was being decorated with paper lanterns, Vietnamese hats, and wire models of villagers in sampan boats. They were really putting on a good show. Whilst we were there we had the chance to visit the museum which illustrates village life through objects, pictures, and writing. It proved to be an interesting visit, significantly enhanced by the elderly villager who demonstrated the tools and apparatus used to process the rice. John even had a go on the water ladder a device used to get water from the rivers to irrigate the paddy fields. As John proved, being a farmer is no easy job. The number of elderly Vietnamese women going around bent over like pieces of bamboo, chins nearly touching their chests, also suggests it takes a huge physical toll on many. When you are probably only five feet high to start with anything which reduces that height further has to be something you could do without.
We rounded off our time in Hue by attending the imperial night at the Citadel. Clutching our 100,000 dong tickets (about £3), we headed there just before 6pm, and thirty minutes later found ourselves seated on bamboo mats with built in under floor heating from the extremely hot stone slabs. I fanned furiously, trying to cool myself down as the beads of sweat poured over me. The heat of the day had warmed the slabs underneath to a temperature which I'm sure would have cooked a fine supper had we thought to bring some along. It seemed a long wait until the show eventually started at half seven, and then with a flourish things kicked into gear. Everything began with a variety of lights being shone onto the side of one of the Citadel buildings. This was impressive as dragons evolved from pillars and swirled over the wall, and various shapes and figures appeared and disappeared.
Then the main section of the show began, as groups of people appeared on the stage dressed in traditional dress, and as historically relevant characters. Those of you who have experienced Vietnamese karaoke will know it's not the most melodic sound to Western ears. The same applied to the ancient instruments which were used during the show. It all created a unique sound which undeniably evoked images of Vietnamese culture of days gone by.
When you're our age all this sensory bombardment, coupled with three hours on a stone and bamboo hotplate does little to relax the soul, so we had to head off for a post show beer.
Those of you who have seen the footage of festival night traffic here will quickly realise that actually reaching a bar was going to be a feat in itself. The usual technique of "decide and go" in the hope that the drivers would go round you sounded risky as we looked at the hoards of moped drivers who were focused on weaving in and out of each other to reach their destination, like swarms of wasps eager to reach the nest. Eventually we managed to weave through and made it as far as the park before being accosted by a group of young girls from the language college. John was delighted to chat with the girls, answering their questions about Vietnam. He's becoming quite a pro with these chats, and is definitely enjoying all the attention. I'm sure youll be relieved to know that after our 15 minute interval with the students we eventually, almost crawling across the threshold of the bar, and dripping a trail of sweat everywhere found a couple of seats - two Huda beer please ! (Made by Carlsberg in Vietnam don't you know!)
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