Hue

Arrived in Hue, and the usual clamour of touts waiting to take you off to their hotel. I went along with one which was a long two minutes away. Yet more rain! A larger place to get lost in than Hoi An. I took a quick motor bike tour round a few bits and pieces. I just went for lunch but got talked into visiting a few place. Banh Mi Bo Kho for lunch. Banh Mi is basically bread (baguette), Bo is beef which means Kho must be soup/stew. One of the nicer dishes I tasted in Vietnamese.

An old pagoda on a hill, where the monks were pruning the leaves of the trees to make them bare. Isn't that what Winter is for? A quick look at the citadel, not really much to see. Stopped off at a place where the machines of war, were on display. Well just really lying on the street. Giant artillery guns, tanks and other reminders of the war. One square armoured vechicle on display looking total impenetrable. Captured by the Vietnamese it said, and you can't just imagine how you could ever capture something like that. The moto driver said he had moved to Hong Kong for five years and then came back. As far as I could work out he fought alongside the US army. He talked about his brother maybe being allowed entry to the US, they were meeting with the embassy next year. His brother fought as lieutant, then the US pulled out.

Popped into the Demilatrized Zone pub, cause I liked the name. Met Chris an English geezer over here for three months, had a few games of pool with him. Actually five and lost every one. Pfff! I wasn't playing bad but just couldn't win a game. Potted all my balls except the black on my first shot, then potted the white and black on my next, grrr. That's not suppose to happen! Chris had picked up a motorbike in Saigon and riding up to Hanoi. Good luck, mate! As I mentioned before the traffic is pretty crazy, but it makes crossing the road an adventure, getting the adrenalin pumping. I fell like I'm playing Frogger. Have to move into an Asian mindset, of letting the motorbikes avoid you. Just walk out on the road and ignore them. The worst think you can do is stop, and give your rabbit caught in the headlight impression, as they invariably will drive behind you if you keep walking. But when you stop dead, problems occur, being whacked by a fast moving vehicle the primary problem. So go with the flow, cross your fingers and start walking!