my wand3rlust: hue

Showing posts with label hue. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Day 28 - Last Day in Hue

Sometimes I like filler days where I prepare for transportation to the next destination, sometimes I despise them. For one, it gives me a chance to recuperate and just relax in the city for however long, before the bus/airplane arrives. But at the same time, I am left without a hotel room to shower in after check out.

Today was one of those days, where I had to check out of my room at 12, and wait for the bus to pick me up on my way to Hanoi at 5pm.

I spend the majority of the morning sleeping in (finally!) and catching up on writing post cards for some friends. After checking out, I headed to the post office to deliver the post cards, before hailing a cyclo to take me to the popular street market in Hue called Dong Ba Market. I got into a little trouble with the cyclo driver over the cost of the trip, which was a 5 minute ride across the river on a bridge. I negotiated "10" to the driver, assuming that we were referring to 10,000 Dong (50 cents). I failed to specify that I meant Dong, and when I paid, he demanded 10 DOLLARS!...yep for a 5 minute cyclo ride across the bridge. It was funny trying to reason why him about how outrageous such a price was for such a short distance, but he insisted because it required a lot of energy to drive a cyclo.. BULLSHIT. I argued with him so more about the distance and how I meant 10,000 Dong. Of course, his cyclo-driver friend who was nearby agreed with him on the price. I called my friend Quang who talked with the cyclo driver and was able to lower the price to 30,000, but then I further negotiated it down to 20,000 dong.

I don't know how I feel about these tactics. I know they people are trying to make a living, but I just feel cheated sometimes when they try to scam me for something as outrageous as $10USD. It just angers me... I'm glad I made it out without having to shell out 200,000 dong... ridiculous! And what makes things worse is, even though he is trying to survive in this world, it makes it less likely for me, or any other person to want to hire cyclo drivers again...

After this debacle, I walked around the market to kill some time before being picked up by the bus. Luckily, this bus was of better quality than all the other buses I've taken so far. The back of the bus didn't have a row of 5 beds side-by-side. A perfect situation for the longest bus ride so far in Vietnam...13 hours from Hue to Hanoi.

My awesome $1.50 Hue shirt...after one hand wash.

More Bun Beo

Day 27 - Nguyen Dynasty Tombs/Mausoleums

Another early day again to check out some of the many Nguyen tombs and mausoleums scattered throughout the city. Many of the emperors had these places built while they were still alive, adding their own ideas on how they should look.

Most of these tombs consist of five common elements. One, there is a stele pavilion, where the accomplishments or biography of the emperor is presented. Two, there is a temple for worship. Three, there is some sort of structure that holds the emperors' remains. Four, there is a courtyard with statues of horses, elephants, and military personnel. Five, there are usually lotus ponds surrounding the area.

The most interesting, and least traditional of the tombs that I visited was the tomb of Khai Dinh, which mixes European and Vietnamese architecture to create a somewhat gothic structure that does not appear very inviting. Once you enter the sepulchre though, it is a definite contrast, as the room is filled with colorful mosaics made of pieces of glass and ceramic, gold plated statues, and intricate columns. Once we got back on the bus, the tour guide gave us a little bit of Vietnamese Gay history. Apparently, Khai Dinh was gay, and he did not have any sons with any of the concubines. There is speculation that the "child" that he claimed was his, and who took the throne after him, was actually his nephew.

Somewhere in between all the tomb-hopping, we stopped at a Vietnamese Martial Arts school, where we got to see some of the traditional martial arts performed by some young kids. It was very impressive to see some of the stuff they could do. One of the students was a champion in the country and he performed something very shocking. Two spears were pressed against his neck, as he pushed through them, and we could easily see the bamboo sticks bend through the pressure. The sharp edges didn't puncture his neck, and while he was doing this, he took a glass of water to drink. Another student broke about 7 layers of ceramic bricks with his head. Both of them performed some sort of ritual to gather their energy internally before performing such stunts.

Here is some video footage of one of the student's performances:

At the end of the day, I walked around the town and tried some more Hue delicacies, before settling on a small restaurant to have some beers. There, I met the waitress who spoke very good English. We struck up an interesting conversation about her life, aspirations, and views on love. She was a short, and dark girl, but attractive, in my opinion, in U.S. standards. She said that she doesn't feel wanted in Vietnam because most of the Vietnamese guys want light-skinned and tall Vietnamese girls. I asked her what her "type" of guy was and she said she liked tall, blonde, curly haired boys. She said she knew she couldn't find someone like this in Hue because most of the foreigners she meets are only here for a couple days, so nothing serious could ever happen. I asked her when she thought she would marry, and she said something that was similar to what I think most people in the U.S. would say. She said she didn't have a specific age, but only wanted to marry when she knew she could support herself and live comfortable. Not the traditional answer that I would have expected, so maybe there is a greater sense of independence with the women in Vietnam. She then explained that she knew that even though she has a specific "type" of guy that she wanted to marry, she knew that anybody could come into her life and she could fall in love with him, flaws and all.

She seemed to have a pretty difficult life. She worked two jobs, as a waitress in the restaurant I was at, and as a receptionist at a backpacker hostel. This only made things worse for her in finding someone to like her. She said most Vietnamese men get jealous when she is around so many foreigners, who hug her or give her a kiss on the cheek goodbye when they see her. But she enjoyed her jobs because it gave her the opportunity to learn more English, which she loved. This particular day, she worked 14 hours. She said she used the money to help her family out, which is what most of the young Vietnamese do once they find a job. She also used the money to pay off the bank loan she took out to purchase a motorbike, which is around $1,000 USD. With all of this, she had aspirations of doing something involving cooking, but not be an actual cook, because it lacks the interaction that she so loved at the jobs she had. She hoped to someday move to Australia.

I asked her if she was generally happy. Surprisingly, she said she was, because even though she had so many obligations, she was somewhere comfortable, and close to family. Her jobs weren't necessarily difficult, even though she works long hours, so that helps, but she doesn't have much time for herself. She knows that if she were to move to Australia, it would be lonely.

I asked her more about her interests, and whether she would want to be a tour guide because you could meet a lot of people that way, but she said it wouldn't be possible because she hated history, which is a prerequisite to becoming a tour guide. This confirms what was told to me yesterday by my CS friends. Vietnamese youth don't like to study history. Such a shame since there is so much that is interesting about this country and its struggles!

At the end of the night, I took home more valuable knowledge of the views and opinions of Vietnamese youth, who share some of the same views as I do about life and love.

Stele Pavilion at one of the tombs

Lotus Pond at one of the tombs

Pavilion with statues of elephants, horses, and military personnel

The steps to the Khai Dinh tomb

The front facade of the Khai Dinh tomb.

Inside the Khai Dinh tomb.

Vietnamese Martial Arts

The young man just broke through the ceramic tiles with his head.

Making incense sticks with cinnamon

Banh Beo - Flat rice cakes with minced shrimp and a crouton

My new waitress friend, Mo (and my awesome Hue tee-shirt)

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Day 26 - Hue Ancient City and Citadel

Took another early sleeper bus ride from Hoi An to Hue, which took about 4 hours. I pre-booked a hotel on expedia just to save the hassle of dealing with all the motorbike drivers hounding you for a ride the moment you exit the bus. It wasn't too expensive, so it saved me a little stress and gave me a lot more luxury. I don't know if it's psychological, but I just assume the rooms are cleaner because I'm paying more than $5 to $7...

Hue was the former capital of Vietnam before Ho Chi Minh and the Communist Party took over the country and relocated the capital to Saigon. The last dynasty before this takeover was the Nguyen Dynasty, probably one of the most common Vietnamese Surnames in the country (or at least Little Saigon?). The family's ruling lasted 13 generations over the span of 143 years and they are remembered all over the city with mausoleums, tombs, and an Imperial City called the Citadel, which included a Forbidden City that the emperor and a select few people were only allowed to set foot in.

I gave into a tour again. Not 1 hour after checking into my hotel and roaming the streets looking for food (I tried one of the Hue specialties - Bun Bo Hue), I ended up booking a full day tour, which I would start today and finish tomorrow. Bad idea....as I should have rested from the bus ride and just relaxed in the city. I was tired the whole time, and didn't pay as much attention to the tour guide.

We walked through the Citadel, which was the former Imperial City for the Nguyen Emperor. The entire area was surrounded by brick walls and water to prevent attacks. Inside the city were palaces, theatres, libraries, and living quarters, among other things. Much of the city was destroyed during the war, and is currently being restored. The restored structures will be complete replicas, which takes away from the authenticity of the site. I almost thing it would be better to leave it alone, or at least try to use some of the vestiges in the replicas.

Afterwards, we headed to the Thien Mu Pagoda, which is recognized by a seven-story octagonal tower in the front. We were there during one of the Monk's chanting sessions, which was very mesmorizing to watch. What I found interesting was the way some of the younger monks cut their hair. Normally I'm used to seeing Monks with their hair fully shaved, but these monks had only their bangs unshaved. We stayed there for a short period before heading on yet another boat ride down the Perfume River. Both my travel books for Vietnam recommended a boat trip down the Perfume River...but again, I was left underwhelmed as there was nothing going on in the river! Maybe it's just not the right season?

At the end of the night, I met up with two CSers who lived in Hue and had dinner and coffee with them. They took me to a restaurant to try another Hue speciality - Nem Lui, which has become yet another favorite dish of mine. We talked a little about the education and interests of Vietnamese students. Both of them spoke very good English. One of them wanted to study English literature and one day become an interpreter or translator. The other wanted to be a secretary or work in tourism. What I found very surprising from our conversations was that most Vietnamese students were not interested in history, politics, or law. They were more interested in economics and English. There's so much history within the country that I would think the students would be fascinated by it all, but apparently that isn't so. They said that most students are bored by it all.

We also discussed the aspirations of these students. Most people who can speak a foreign language have desires to either travel outside the country, or relocate to another country so that they can make more money. They believe this is the case because with the skill of another language is greater access to general knowledge of everything outside of Vietnam. They are more aware of the possibilities than other Vietnamese students who aren't as good at a foreign language.

Of course, getting a Visa into another country is a difficult, timely, and expensive process for these students. For one, the U.S. does not want to make it easy for these students to come to the country, even with a sponsor or relatives living there because they know that these students will most likely stay in the country. The application process is difficult. To top it all off, you basically have to pay your way just to get an interview for a Visa. There are so many people in between you and the American interviewer, that you have to save up a ton of money to gain access. One of the CSers friends had to pay around $10,000 USD just to get a 2-3 year Visa to Canada...

We spent the rest of the night on more trivial topics. I taught them some new English idioms like "Its raining cats and dogs" or "Don't let the cat out of the bag" and one of them interviewed me for 15 minutes for her English class about my experiences in Vietnam so far.