Hue is Way Boring

Hue (pronounced Hway as one syllable) is not so exciting. I'm not exactly sure why I decided to come here actually. haha. The bus ride down was as comfortable as it could be I guess, but definitely NOT like the sleeper buses in South America. The buses are 3 rows of two small beds set up like bunk beds. My friends Eden and Neil, and I were lucky to find 3 close to each other so we could chat. Once we saw the bus, we knew it was going to be a pretty long 14 hrs, and after doing the Halong Bay booze cruise, we were in desparate need of sleep since we were going straight from the bus back to the hostel on to another bus.  We were told the bus would pick us up at 5:30pm so when I finished showering and repacking my bag and it was 5:15pm, I figured I wouldn't have time for dinner, and I would just have to bank on the bus stopping for food like our hostel people said it would around 8 or 9pm at the latest since our lunch on the boat was at like 10:30 or 11am.  Well we did stop around 8 or 9pm, but it was NOT for dinner and there was no food.  Not cool. I was starving at this point but pretty much had to suck it up bc there was nothing I could do about it. I KNEW once I saw all the locals get on the bus with loads of food that I was going to be in trouble. The bus didn't end up stopping for dinner until 1:30AM. Umm. I got my butt up and ate though, and I had some of the best Pho Ga (Chicken Pho) EVER. So good out of a dingy little food place that seemed as sketch as ever. And so begins my Pho tour of Vietnam.  haha. I had Pad Thai everyday I spent in Thailand, and now I will sample Pho at every place I visit in Vietnam. I can't wait!

After arriving to Hue and dumping our stuff the next morning, we just wandered throughout the city taking in the sights and sounds of the market and the city itself.  We only planned on staying one night so we didn't do anything crazy since our next bus was at 8:30am the next day. We wandered through the Citadel, which was like a giant town for the Chinese emperors in the 1800s when Vietnam was under Chinese control.   Another set of cool buildings to see built when all people had were elephants to help them build collasol structures. The weirdest thing though was that there was a tennis court in the middle of this place. Like a brand new tennis court. The site wasn't as well kept as it could have been, but it was still a cool place to see I guess.

Next stop is Hoi An--CLOTHES CENTRAL!! Everyone goes here to have clothes made from scratch just for you! I can't wait!!! haha. It will be a nightmare for my credit card (aka my parents) but we'll see how well I can come out of this town without putting a massive dent in the rest of the money I have for my trip, which is rapidly coming to an end!! Ahh! How is my time up so quickly?? I don't even remember starting this trip, it seems so long ago! And now I'm down to my last 10 days, and no time to finish all the places I wanted to see!  I'm already planning my return though! :)

And last but not least,
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!! Hope you have the best day!! We'll have LOTS of cake/snicker's/ice cream when I come home!! :)