Sunday June 12th
The train arrived on time at 8:00 and we were picked up and taken to our new hotel. We had an hour to freshen up in this heat before our activity for the day. We met in the lobby by 10:00 to begin our scooter tour of the highlights of Hui and the surrounding countryside.
Hue is a medium sized city on the Perfume River and has a much more laid back feel to it than Ha Noi. Each of us had our own scooter and driver. We were a mini version of a motorcycle gang. We drove off through the city and onto some small country lanes as we made our way the see the rice fields. The harvest had just been completed last week, so the fields were empty and the farmers were beginning to replant for the new harvest. They plough the field, then level the mud and spread seeds. After the rice grows to a couple of inches they replant it in rows with a specific distance between each plant. We saw a few people working in the fields, but again they were fairly far away. We continued on our tour and visited a rice 'museum' where there were some basic displays of old tools and descriptions of the methods used for planting and harvesting rice. There was also an animated old lady who acted out the stages and sang folk songs while doing it. The songs sounded remarkably like Native North American songs. Then we went to an old covered bridge and a small local market, where I took the photo of the old man. After that we rode some more and stopped at a number of other places including: a little shop to watch a one armed lady making the traditional conical grass hats that the locals wear; another shop to watch a woman making sandalwood and cinnamon incense; a viewpoint from Bunker Hill to Hamburger Hill, two of the important battlefields during the American War; a vegetarian lunch at a Buddhist nunnery; a tomb for an old king, which has been neglected and is quite run down; and finally the Citadel which is similar to the Forbidden City in China. This city used to be a walled city with a moat around it. The king built a royal residence inside and the villagers all lived inside the walls too for defensive reasons.
So, it was an interesting tour and we saw lots of different things. The riding was great too, as we went down roads, lanes and dirt paths, My bike got a flat tire and they quickly took a girl off hers and doubled her up and then put me on the one she left. Not sure why, but maybe they didn't want to double up a guy with a girl? I don't know. But after I visited the next stop, the tomb, when I came back my bike and driver were back, he'd fixed the tire. My driver was a really nice guy, he kept putting my helmet for me and adjusting it. It's amazing what they will do for tips!
Back to the hotel by 5:00 after a full fun day. We met up again for dinner at 7:00 and went to a good little restaurant in the area. There was a pool table in the place and Kee Ann and I played two games while waiting for our meal, we won one each. Then most of us went to a bar for drinks. I had a pretty good time and enjoyed Richard's company. I left about 11:00 and headed back to the room for the night.
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