Hue

Hello, everybody.

I'm sad to announce that this will be one of the last emails I will write about my trip. We're back in SF (and then Fresno) on the 20th, just 5 days from now. Although I am feeling a little homesick (for example, I ate something they like to call "pizza" yesterday), I know it's going to be a little sad to leave.

Anyway... Hanoi. As you might recall, we left Hanoi for Hue on the 13th. Hanoi was great. Even though it's the capital, it has the charm of a provincial capital (think Sacramento, but in Vietnam - just the size of the downtown area). It's also a very clean and sort-of-organized place. Of the three capitals we've been to, Hanoi has to be my favorite. Bangkok is a HUGE city... it has everything... it's also an economic powerhouse but, VERY dirty. Phnom Phen is kind of depressing; Cambodia is a very poor country. Hanoi, on the other hand, is not a poor city... and, as I said, even though it's the capital, it's not that big (I counted two "tall" buildings).

One of the most interesting things about Hanoi is crossing the street. There are very few stop lights and the crosswalks are there just for show. You have to run to the middle of the street, between the two lanes of traffic, and as soon as you think it's safe, you run to the sidewalk. I've bungee-jumped before and I would say you get the same rush, especially when crossing one of the major boulevards.

Hue is very different, on the other hand. It's a very small city and there are very few cars. There are mostly scooters and "cyclos," which are the Vietnamese version of the rickshaw (sp?). I've been dying to get a ride on one of those but the drivers are so aggressive that that I don't want to reward their misbehavior by riding with them. For example, one guy kept asking us if we wanted a ride from the moment we left our hotel; then he waited outside the restaurant. Then, another one followed us from a park to a cafe waiting for us to come out; after the cafe, he followed us to the hotel, until he realized we weren't going to go on his cyclo... that's when I heard an attempt at saying "you fuck you." Rodrigo, your assertiveness would have come in really handy. In fact, you would have gone Marine on his ass. When he attempted to insult me, I only said "OK." The bell-man (he is not a boy) was outside watching and I think he left us alone because he saw him. But it was interesting. It was bound to happen some time. I'm surprised it didn't happen in Bangkok or in Phnom Phen.

So yesterday, we took a "city" tour. We went to three tombs of some of the kings from the last dynasty, lunch, then we went to the Forbidden City (I think it's called the Purple Palace), then a pagoda and then a boat ride on the Perfume River.

OK... the three tombs, even though they were declared a "World Heritage Site" by the UN, they kind of suck. I suspect the fleeing French authorities and the North took many of the artifacts that were in the tombs. We even decided to sit it out on the last one. Then they took us to lunch, which was pretty decent. After about an hour, we were ushered out by one of the waiters with a "You go now!" and a gesture to our bus.

Then it was off to the Forbidden City. The tour guide didn't tell us but it's a small scale replica of the Chinese Forbidden City. Nevertheless, the size of it is impressing. It's huge, and only 10% of the buildings survive (I kind of spaced out during the explanation... not sure if it was the American War or some other reason... it was 39 degrees Celsius!).

After about an hour and a half, we went to a pagoda. Now, let me say that... I'm pagodaed-out!!!! I will be very happy if I don't see another pagoda for a while! But, nevertheless, it had a distinct Vietnamese look to it. Then, the ride by boat down the Perfume River.

The guide explained to us that there are people that live on the water. He also said that the government has given them plots to farm but that they resist leaving their boat life. However, because of pollution and because there are very little fish in the river, they have resorted to selling sand from the banks of the river. I don't know how much money there is in sand but I don't think it's very lucrative. I have pictures that I haven't been able to upload yet.

Anyway... this email is way too long now. So, I say farewell. Off to Ho Chi Minh City (or Saigon) tomorrow.

Hope everybody is happy. As Buddha says: "Live long and prosper" (or was it Spock?).