The old imperial city of Hue

In the morning, we arrive in Hue by train and the weather is quite nice. A bit cloudy, but the sun comes out from time to time. We walk the nearly 3km to our hostel on foot, even though the taxi drivers outside the train station were particularly persistent this time. After dropping off our luggage, we start searching for a decent lunch. We end up in a vegetarian restaurant that was recommended by the hostel and it is also very crowded. Once again, we are overwhelmed by the menu and simply order something. You can't go wrong with a vegetarian restaurant.

For the rest of the day, I stroll through the city alone because Max is not feeling well. I go to the Perfume River and cross to the other side. There, I visit a huge modern supermarket and then the huge local market Dong Ba. These are contrasts! Even by Asian standards, it is extremely crowded, stuffy, and bustling. I'm glad that Max stayed at the hostel. He is not a fan of these Asian markets. I am totally fascinated and have to sort out all the sensory impressions, which is quite difficult because you can't stop anywhere without being in the way. Busy women constantly push past me. The aisles are so narrow that I sometimes have to almost sit on the goods when there is oncoming traffic. And some people even push their bicycles through or carry huge boxes and bags through the aisles. So I understand when I get pushed aside. After all, I'm just standing there, staring as if I'm on a different planet, and not buying anything. I pass through the meat and fish section a bit faster. Other travelers have told us about dead dogs they have seen on the butcher tables. I'm relieved that I haven't seen that yet and don't need to.

I buy a Banh Bao filled with coconut from a street vendor (in Vietnam, the steamed buns are filled either with coconut or with a mixture of minced pork, onions, and quail eggs. Both are very delicious) and stroll to the river mouth. From there, you have a beautiful view and I stay there for a while, reading and waiting for the sunset.

Banh Bao seller

As it gets dark and colder, I go back to the hostel and tell Max about my experiences. I also brought him some peanut bars. One of our favorite snacks. Fortunately, he is feeling better now and we have dinner together in the evening. On the tourist restaurant street, drugs are offered to us on every corner. But not discreetly. 'Drugs' and 'Marijuana' are shouted across the street. Apparently, the drug trade is not being prosecuted here, even though it is officially illegal.

We eat at a small restaurant where you can try the most popular street food dishes of Vietnam. It is more expensive than street food, but we get an explanation of how to eat the dishes and especially what we are eating. That is a rarity.

The next day, we want to visit the main attraction of the city. The Citadel and the old imperial city. Unfortunately, the weather is not on our side today and it starts raining from time to time. But with rain jackets, we still make our way and if it rains heavier, we find shelter somewhere. You pay a quite high entrance fee for the imperial city and it wasn't really worth it for us. Much was destroyed during the Vietnam War and the buildings that are intact are just buildings that the emperors and their mandarins once walked through. Maybe it's also because of the mediocre weather that we are not so enthusiastic.

Since we had lunch twice to escape the rain for a while, I only have a vegetarian Pho in the evening and then it's off to bed. The journey continues the next morning.