Hue Days in Central Vietnam (Vietnam Diary #7)

Hue (pronounced “hway”) is an interesting city in central Vietnam where a popular emperor from 18-voetsak used to make important decisions from a golden throne. More academically put, it was the seat of the Nguyen Dynasty in the national capital from 1802 to 1945.

The major attraction is the 19^th century citadel, which is bam-smack in the center of Hue and surrounded by a huge mote with man-eating koi fish. If you were to try invade by crossing the bridge, you would be met by a huge fort with French cannons pointing in your general direction.

I got lost in the complex for a good few hours. There was plenty to see, read and admire. One modern addition was a virtual reality viewing of what it may have been like back then, but this came with a hefty price tag for just 4 minutes of immersion, so I gave it a skip. There was also no one seated on the dragon chairs, so I felt somewhat sceptical.

Hue was WAY more vibey than I expected. I spent 4 nights at a homestay – in a private room at the top floor which had a nice big window overlooking the Perfume River. I got awoken the very first morning by extremely loud karaoke coming from across the water. The singing marathon started at 9am and was still going on by bedtime at around 11pm!

The Hue Walking Street was also not far off and had loud music pumping from a number of clubs and restaurants. It felt like a somewhat tamer version of Hanoi in my opinion. I was just getting so sick of being asked if I wanted drugs or “boom-boom” as I walked around as a lone male!

The Spring rains had come, so I did spend a lot of time in the homestay chatting to the youths, who were sharing dormitories with bunk beds below my VIP room with a double mattress on the floor. That really was a highlight and I met some interesting characters.

I made a more senior friend the one night who had an interesting story to tell. Chris hails from England and is 64 years young. He’s currently dating a lovely Filipino woman named Jule who he met on Tinder. An accident several years back put the poor man in a coma, to a point where medical professionals suggested that it was time to pull the plug. He tells me that it was his mother singing opera that saved him. He was blind and somewhat incapacitated for some time, but has made a full recovery. He plans to publish the story he has written. He’s also a musician and gave a rendition of Beethovan’s Moonlight Sonata on the pub piano.

On my way home after a few IPAs and games of pool, I stumbled across a HUGE night club with no entrance doors. It pretty much spilled into the street. I made my way in and stood watching the DJ and a couple of dancers wearing feathery outfits. It was very touching when some locals noticed and handed me a beer. I soon got invited to sit down and got fed a few things from endless dishes of Vietnamese delights.

I would recommend a visit to Hue. It’s an interesting juxtaposition of history and modernism. Another example are old shrines or pagodas that have huge Huda beer logos next to them. I’m sure Huda must originate from Hue. They seem very proud of the brand. I’m glad I stuck to beer because I read that two tourists had died from drinking cocktails that contained surgical methanol that same week.

Back to Danang for my final week in Vietnam. The place has started to feel like home after 3 months of living here.

Next Stop: The Philippines!

Previously: Danang Downtown & Cosplay Competition

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