Hue

I'm currently in Hue, Vietnam, the city that was most destroyed during the Tet Offensive. Apart from that trivia, this town also houses the ancient capital city, which I visited today. It was eerie. The citadel, the old city, and the "forbidden city" (the ancient imperial city) were heavily destroyed during the war and Tet Offensive. Although it was named a World Heritage Site fifteen years ago, the ancient city is still largely in ruins. Some of the buildings have been well restored, but other remain mere heaps of crumbled stone and rotting wood, overtaken by foliage. And on a misty, overcast day like today, when no one seemed to be around, wandering around the old imperial capital felt like discovering an ancient civilization for the first time, or wandering into a Asian "secret garden". I kept getting lost, and I even got a bit scared at times, walking alone in ancient temples or wandering among the bombed out remains of once royal edifices. Occasionally I'd catch a glimpse of another human being, maybe a lone tourist or a guard or repair man, but for the most part it was just me in the labrynth of the citadel. I saw most of the landmark, but after a few hours I had to get out of there. Just too eerie. And it had started raining.

With my poncho draped over me, I wandered down to the market, haggled for some mandarin oranges, which are my new favorite food. Not the canned kind, of course. The real, fresh kind. Mmmh! And today I got them down to 15,000 vnd/kilo. That's about 80 cents for 2 lbs. I'm finally getting better about this bargaining business.

I also found a great little restaurant, where I had the best roll-you-own spring rolls I've had in Vietnam. And they were only 15,000. At the restaurant I met a British man who's traveling in Asia. He has two daughters about my age and, as it turned out, is actually staying in my hotel. It was nice to have some conversation. The best and worst part of traveling alone is the silence that it often entails.

Tonight I'm having dinner with Toni, an American woman I met at the Fulbright Seminars who's working at Hue University as an English Language Fellow. She's taking me to a veg place she knows. Tomorrow I'm hoping to hire a motorbike and driver to take me to some of the imperial tombs around the city.

Hue is lovely but it's hard to beat Hoi An, which has become my favorite city in Vietnam. If I stay another year, I'd really like to live there, but there seem to be even fewer work opportunities there than in Nha Trang. I'm actually thinking about going back to Hoi An in a couple days, since plans to visit Becca in Dong Hoi might be canceled due to some probs with her uni.

Becoming a tourist in this country is a bit of adjustment for me, as I've started to consider myself a resident of Nha Trang. People's attitudes change, though, as soon as they learn that I live in Nha Trang and work there. They stop heckling me, they smile more, they lower the price.

Being a tourist does have its funny moments, though. Like this one from Hoi An. Becca, Jahmila, Keith and I shared one room with two big beds. Keith and I shared. One night, I woke up to find him propped up on one elbow, staring at me. I took out my earplugs--it was a noisy hotel--and had the following exchange:

Me: Are you trying to say something to me?
Keith: No, but I think the ghost of christmas past is outside.

I heard chains rattling indeed, and laughed at Keith's nocturnal wit before passing out again. At least that's how I remember it. Apparently, though, I woke Keith up because I was making a lot of noise. I think I was having a nightmare. Oops! The next morning, though, "the ghost of christmas past" comment seemed even funnier, especially when I realized my memory of the night's events were a bit skewed. I apologized for waking him, but assured him it could have been worse. It could have been one of those nightmares from which I wake up screaming and in tears. After hearing that, I'm surprised he didn't ask for his own room.

I'm still trying to think of a way to set up camp in Hoi An for a while. If anyone would like to finance the opening of a bar or restaurant or hostel, please contact me . :)