So Hanoi on the whole turned out to be a disappointment. I thought that as capital of Vietnam, there should be tons of stuff to see and do, but really, there's not much to recommend about without Ha Long Bay, and even that didn't blow my mind away. Too bad, I wanted to like Hanoi yet shit happens. Time to explore another city I think. I decided on Hue, the former Imperial City of Vietnam. I'd heard from other backpackers I'd met that Hue, although not bad, was best avoided in favor of spending more time in Hoi An, but I thought at least a short stop in Hue was worthwhile.
To get there, I took the bus. Took 12 hours, but it was an overnight sleeper bus so it was ok. Now, I had never taken a sleeper bus before and simply assumed the seats would be wider, but actually the bus had little cots with blankets and pillows and stuff to lie down and get comfortable. I arrived at Hue at 8am, all ready for a day's adventure.
From the hotel I was staying at, it was a short walk across a bridge to reach the citadel.
Like every city in Vietnam I've been to, the traffic and motorcycles everywhere are just crazy. Cross the street at your own risk!
Coming up now to the entrance to the inner city.
The whole place is surrounded by a moat. Is this supposed to convince an attacking army to turn around? The moat's not exactly wide or deep.
And here be the main antrance to the Purplr Forbidden City. At least, I thought it was; that guy sitting to the left of the entrance motioned me around to the left, where the real city gates were.
Vietnamese flag.
See, if I hadn't seen people passing through here I'd have walked on. This part's the main gates, you buy your ticket on the left to get in. A sign would be nice, people.
Not exactly the botanical gardens, but it's something.
The emperor's imperial throne. Thought it would be larger, actually.
Imperial palace keeper, hard at work.
There were some displays around, but not very interesting.
Door to the inner courtyard.
I think this was meant to symbolize something(there were other pots of water set up all around), but really, at this point I lost interest and didn't bother to find out what.
Some parts of the palace were closed off, for renovation I suppose.
Nice looking gazebo, yeah?
One of the few statues around. Considering the history of the place, I thought there'd be more to it.
One last shot before leaving.
Well, that was a big waste of time. The other people I spoke to were right, there wasn't anything of note to see in Hue. Still, it was just one day, I didn't lose that much time.
Most of the stuff I eat is usually cheap local fare, Pho Bo or rice noodles or whatever, but you know what? After today's disappointment I decided to get something better to make up for it. Hence, sushi.
Up next: Hoi An, a mere 3 hours away by bus. Should be better, I think.