After checking into our hotel yesterday we decided to grab some lunch and then headed back to the hotel to relax a bit. The overnight train had really taken it out of us and it was boiling hot outside. We ended up watching a movie and hanging out till around 2pm. At that point we figured we better do something, so we headed for the Forbidden Purple City/Imperial Palace, which is situated just on the other side of the Purple River and is the Vietnamese equivalent of the one in China.
It was about a 10 min walk over there and cost us 50,000 dong to get in, which is roughly 3.50 usd. Unlike a lot of the palaces we have seen the majority of the Forbidden Purple City has been completely destroyed and is just now being restored. It was pretty cool and surprisingly there were not a lot of people around so it was pretty relaxing to walk around. We spent most of our time sitting in the shade just taking it in and watching some of the construction. Honestly,it was kind of nice to be on our own and get to do things at our pace instead of being on a tour. We walked around a little more, got some ice cream and then headed back to the hotel. It was getting a little late and we wanted to cool off before dinner.
Once it started getting dark we decided to go look for food. Since neither of us was all that hungry and it was finally cooling off we ended up walking all over the city before dinner. It really is probably one of the things we do best, just wondering off down the streets to see whats in the neighborhood. It seemed pretty safe, especially for two huge dudes like ourselves, and most everyone was waving and smiling or just saying hello. I don't care what the tour books say about the Thai smile being infectious, for my money everyone here has been far nicer and doesn't seem to be trying to scam you at every street corner. Sure people ask you if you want a motorbike ride or to come into their store, but once you say no they leave it at that and walk off smiling. We walked for about a good hour and half and got to see all kinds of things including what we termed the family sedan. The family sedan is a motorbike with two adults and two kids. It really is amazing how they just pack everyone on. One kid in the front and one in the middle.
Around 7pm we stopped at a restaurant and got some food. It wasn't anything to write home about, but it did the job and when we were done we headed back to the hotel. Both of us were still pretty tired from the train and the walking had not made us any less tired so we called it an early night and went to bed.
This morning we got up around 10:30. It was nice to get up when we wanted to and not be at the mercy of a tour. Last night we decided we would see the sites on our own if we wanted to and not do any of the tours the hotel was trying to sell us. I think it was a good choice; it is hot as crap here again today and getting up at 7am is probably the last thing we needed. By about noon we were up and out the door. We grabbed some food and then headed over to a local market to check it out. It was unbearably hot and we did not last long in the confined spaces of the market. It was the first non tourist driven market we have found and was just packed with people and local goods. Having our fill after about 30 min we headed for a small outdoor seating area in the shade along the river. The breeze was great and it was cool in the shade. Honestly I can't even begin to describe how relaxing it was. We must have sat there for a good hour just looking out across the river enjoying a drink and some ice cream.
From there we made our way back to our side of the river. I doubt we will do to much more today. The city of Hue does not have too many places to see and I think we have seen all the ones we can without taking a tour to the DMZ or Hoi An, which are outside the city. I must say after the two sick days in Hanoi and the strict schedule of the tour to Ha Long Bay it has been really nice to just get out and walk around on our own here in Hue.
As for tomorrow we leave for Ho Chi Min City.. aka Saigon, which is our last stop in Vietnam.
