We left Hoi An by train to Hue and had a seat each on a train that wasn't packed, which was a nice relief. The train journey gave us some lovely views along the coast looking out to sea, on beaches and harbours, and as it climbed the side of mountains you could look up and see the clouds covering the mountain tops and little streams coming down. The journey only took about 3 hours - also I didn't mention the tv's the coach had, which halfway through the trip started playing some Vietnamese pop tunes - I'm glad I had my music!
We arrived at our hotel late afternoon which was nice enough and clean, then later wondered into town to find some food - Emma's tummy still wasn't right and finding veggie food out here, especially even a little selection to have a bit of choice is not proving easy, but we found a little place and strolled back to leave more exploring to the next day.
Day 2 we decided to walk across the bridge over the Perfume River to the Citadel: A former imperial city of palaces, ceremonial halls, houses, gardens and lakes. Emperor Gia Long began building this site in 1804 and it has since been part destroyed by typhoons and the American bombings, although reconstruction has brought some of the buildings back to life and more work is still underway here. After exploring the Citadel we were going to walk around the northern side of the river, but there didn't seem to be much we were interested in and Emma still wasn't 100% and I was also starting to feel tired, so we headed back to have a little rest and some quiet time! Hue is much more built up than Hoi An and much busier with local sellers constantly hassling you, which is getting quite tiring now! Anyway, we found a lovely place to eat later on, which had some good reviews - trip advisor is becoming more and more useful!
Day 3: I think we were both hoping Emma's tummy would slowly get better, but today it has made another bad turn 😞 on the antibiotics now and a rest day to try and sort it out 🙏 I have wondered out for a bit of food, popped back in to check all is ok and back out just around the corner for a little hair trim for £3............with a free bit of shoulder and head slapping massage at the end!! - I was a little shocked as she started, but went with it!
Anyway, I'm playing nurse today, mint teas, coke and anything else I can do, although I feel pretty helpless. Fingers crossed rest and drugs do the trick. We have an overnight train booked tomorrow for Hanoi.
