Rock-Awn hits Hue

The last few days Rock-Awn’s journey began in a bus with lie down beds and ended on a train ride over the mountains and along the sea.

In between there was an action packed couple of days in Hue. Hue was the capital of Vietnam from 1802-1945 and is relatively close to the DMZ line which divided Vietnam into north and south. It’s a pretty city along the Perfume river and our first half day there we spent a good chunk of time walking along and exploring it.

We also stumbled along a market that turned out to be Dong Ba Market. Dong Ba Market was made famous by Anthony Bourdain when he discovered one of his favourite dishes here (there will be two food stories associated with this a bit later!)

The next day we crossed the bridge and explored the Citadel and Imperial City which is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The grounds are quite large and it was easy to get lost in this maze of buildings and enclosures which varied from decrepit to almost fully restored.

In the afternoon, we rented bicycles, navigated the crazy traffic and made our way to Ho Thuy Tien. Ho Thuy Tien was a waterpark that opened in 2004, but due to various issues that same year it closed and was essentially abandoned. Recently word has gotten out, so though we had to do a bit of bush waking to get there, there were quite a few other people exploring this area. It was interesting, and could have had the potential to have some cool graffiti art, but unfortunately the artists that left their mark were pretty uninspiring.

We went from weird, creepy, interesting vibe to a more tranquil, calm, spiritual one. From here we went to Tu Hieu Pagoda. Tu Hieu Pagoda is where Thich Nhat Hanh began his studies as a monk and where he is currently living out his last days. It was a beautiful place located amongst the forest and we had a nice time just simply being here. It was one of those times where it felt like bringing out a camera and trying to capture the moment or the scene would simply make it fade away. So, these were the times that I brought out my mental camera to reserve the shots simply for me.

FOOD!!!

Because I know this is the section we are all waiting for!! We had a few interesting food experiences here, but I guess how can you not when Hue as a city has recently taken steps to become the food capital of Vietnam. Our first meal happened in Dong Ba market (remember . . . . the one Anthony Bourdain went to). We were accosted by the food stand ladies and eventually gave in. Glad we did as it was delicious. But we didn’t really order, she kept bringing out food until we told her to stop and we’re pretty sure we got “white person” hosed on price. We’re also not quite sure what exactly we had, but are pretty sure some of them were on our food list anyways!

When Anthony Bourdain was at this market, he discovered Bun Bo Hue (also as you can tell by the name native to this city). He described it as “the broth that the gods were suckled on” Unfortunately I did a bit of reading about the soup and discovered that it was also a meatstravaganza including things such as congealed pig’s blood, pork balls, pork knuckles, etc. Already being meated out on “regular” meat, I wasn’t sure I could do it. But . . . . . Anthony gave such a glowing review. How could I not? So I followed Anthony’s advice with the caveat that I could leave the meat behind (I’m going to say that’s not cheating!)

It was good, but not quite a taste sensation for me. The other highlight was salted coffee which also comes from this region. DawnO gave it a thumbs up as it tasted like salted caramel.

Other foods and drinks that were consumed here.

This ends Rock-Awn’s time in Vietnam. We’re off to Laos tomorrow. Vietnam has been great and I’m glad I had the opportunity to come here as it’s always been on my list. I was surprised by the food and felt welcomed by the people. Will I be back? Maybe. For now it’s simply a big fat THANK YOU Vietnam!!