We took a decision a couple of weeks ago that we would come to Central Vietnam despite the fact that it was likely to rain – we realised that it was far preferable to be wet than extra hot!
We were delighted that Josh linked us with his friend Shi (pronounced with an ‘up down up’ tone – you try it!) who, he says, is the only person who knows more about Hue (his first love) than he does.
And what wet!
We began the day with coffee in a great cafe above the market:
Leaving required a bit of a wait while the rain absolutely bucketed down:
But we were brave and ventured on to a very special pottery museum, run by a Vietnamese professor who had worked in Germany but had retired home to make a museum of the pottery her brother had collected. The entrance was somewhat challenging:
But it was a special treat to meet her and to have her tell us the story – in German which Sue kind of understood – of a very special object from her family:
We then braved the wet to visit a historically important pagoda and it was lunchtime! Shi wanted to take us to a local family and our car could not go down the narrow road, so we started to walk until we were challenged by the flood in the middle of the street.
Nikhil was undaunted and set off in his sandals and shorts wading through the water. Shi, however, commandeered a passing student on a scooter to give him a ride to the place we were going to eat, and went to borrow a motorbike. A few minutes later, our hero arrived with a grin on his face:
He drove us to the family’s home where we had one of the best meals we’ve had in Vietnam – all a theme on bahn (cakes … but not of the sweet kind, to Nikhil’s disappointment) except for the very slim bananas (like the Vietnamese):
After lunch, I went into the kitchen and met the woman who had set up the place and was the main cook – although she had fallen over and damaged her arm so she was rather busier checking receipts than cooking:
Her husband had been a senior officer during the Tet Offensive which had taken place in the citadel in Hue – but fortunately he had been on a boat elsewhere at the time.
We then walked through the splendours of the citadel which is on an unbelievable scale – more to come but I leave you with a charming piece of topiary – selected because Sue had tortoise (called Terry) when she was a child:
I’m always amazed by the apparent nonchalance of locals, dashing around in the bucketing rain like your video, on uncovered scooters – presumably to work or other appointments, getting completely drenched. You navigated it all with aplomb!
I guess people just know what to do when it pours with rain! The street drains don’t cope though and huge shallow lakes form everywhere. Josh lived in Hue and found the rain a bit wearying sometimes I think – so difficult to get your clothes dry. I used the hotel hair dryer on M’s shoes yesterday…
Hi Miriam – just catching up on the last few days’ posts. Now that is serious rain, but I hope it is compensated by the magnificent cites in Hue. Their scale and variety are so impressive. And your photos of rural life and the local people are wonderful. You really do capture their special, seemingly relaxed ways.
We are loving Hue so far – such a beautiful and extraordinary place – Royal Tombs today!
Hello, I am catching up too! The contrasts between countryside and city are striking aren’t they. I wonder if social attitudes are very different, Poland oddly a parallel illustration I suppose, of people in the country remembering the politics and cultural codes of the past while city life is more progressive. Is it the rainy season by any chance, or does it rain like this in Hue all the time?
Impossible I’m afraid to draw any conclusions on social attitudes – so very difficult without any kind of language in common and Vietnam is still a communist state with a lot of shared memories of conflict I suspect. And yes, it is the rainy season in Hue – the best time to visit is February/ March apparently when it’s dry but not too hot. However, we really wanted to see rice harvests in the north and rain in Hue was inevitable!
I hope the weather allows you to do the last stage, it looks spectacular.
We’re already in Hoi An and Dan Ang so nearly at the end of the journey now!
It was a wonderful charming wet day with you all ^^