At home with the emperor in Hue

A few hours train ride further north lies Hue - the old imperial city. The start was not smooth. The last-minute booked hotel was fully booked when we arrived relatively late. But within minutes an alternative was found. Seen, frowned, smiled politely and then quickly made a hasty retreat. Um, no thank you! mhmmm....Well, then we were standing in the middle of the night without a roof over our heads. Stay calm, do a little searching and we found a more than adequate accommodation for a small sum of money.

Due to war and natural disasters, not much is left of the old imperial city. Nevertheless, the site is impressive and what is still visitable. The emperor really lived it up here. As an architecture student, you can surely spend days here.

Hue is bustling and almost every tourist visits the city, as there is much to discover in the surrounding area. Here everything somehow comes together. Some of the things we had planned to do had to be canceled. There was a moderate but constant rain that did not stop, let alone end. So we skipped both the imperial tombs in the immediate vicinity of Hue (which are supposed to be much more impressive than the actual imperial palace) and the military "sights" in the former demilitarized zone (especially huge tunnel systems and former positions in probably the most heavily contested area in the world) and moved further north. This time by cross-country bus. Yes, at first glance these buses don't look so uncomfortable. All the seats are actually beds and there's nothing stopping you from taking a nap. Well, if you're only one meter fifty tall at least. And then it's not so comfortable anymore. The air conditioning makes it bearable inside in the heat, well, if you have thick clothes, a jacket, and a blanket with you. But we don't want to complain, eventually we arrived in Phong Nha.