Cruisin Hue and The Citadel...

 So, I have a raging headache right now but my boss needs this one written pronto or I sleep in the tub tonight. Anyway, we arrived yesterday in Hue, Vietnam after a brisk 12 hour train ride from Hanoi.

In an effort to burn a few calories and save a few dong (the money in Vietnam), we walked it from the train station into town to find our crash pad for the evening which happened to be the Sports Hotel. Funny thing is, theres nothin sporty about it unless you consider the rat marathon taking place in the walls a sport, but they don't seem to advertise that for some reason.

We took it easy our first night as travel days we've learned basically suck the life outta you and leave you hurtin the next day if you try and venture out immediately without rest.

Day 2 we headed out on wheels. Bike rentals for the day at $2 a pop seemed like a good idea considering the heat and the short distance to the citadel. The citadel, constructed in 1804 was the capital and center of political operations in Vietnam until the last emperor  abdicated to Ho Chi Minh's revolutionary government in1945.

The area was heavily effected by American military strikes but with the exception of some restoration the majority of the complex was seemingly in its original state and quite imporessive. A wall 8 meters high and 2.5 kilometers around surrounded the massive complex that housed dozens of temples, ceremony halls, and the emperors private residence.

We could see a very that the style and feel within the temples was heavily influenced by the Chinese with its use of reds and gold writing.














After our trek through the citadel we grabbed some grub and tooled around for a bit an dgrabbed lunch near the river before heading back for a break from the heat at our hotel and then back out to dinner before a big storm rolled through and gave us a chance to watch some tube. Thats all for now, and my head even feels a bit better so thanks for reading as always. More Hue to come!

-adam