Vietnam: Hue, Day 2

Today, I was up early to head out in the rain for sightseeing! This is the first time I have seen rain on this trip, so even though it was a little annoying, it was at least nice to know that the wetness I was feeling wasn't due to my own sweat.

We started out by boarding a dragon boat and heading up the Perfume River to the seven-tiered pagoda that Hue is most famous for. Around the pagoda, Buddhist monks have set up a monastery, and so we visited that as well.

One thing about Vietnam is that you don't have to go looking for souvenirs. The stores will come to you. Whether it's being trapped on a boat and then blindsided by a "shop" that magically appears in the aisles, or people coming up to you on the street with various "best sellers". I couldn't help but buy some bamboo placemats from one woman. Mostly to get her to leave me alone, but also because they will match my dining room chairs perfectly. You have to admire the tenacity and persistence of these people. Even when you've said no 15 times, they keep trying.

At any rate, after visiting the Buddhist monastery, we got in the car and drove to two tombs. They were the tombs of some of the last kings and queens of Vietnam. The first was Chinese-influenced. The second was European-influenced.

Now for me to go on a rant about UNESCO and their rampant overuse of the World Heritage Site. It used to be that a UNESCO World Heritage Site actually meant something. But each year they add more and more, either for political circumstances or for genuine circumstances. However, now they have gotten to the point where if anyone famous took a shit somewhere, they make it a UNESCO World Heritage Site. That being said, the tombs today fall into that later category. They were ok, but not worthy of the title of World Heritage Site...

The second one, made up mostly of mosaic, was very impressive and more worthy than the first, but after that we went to a altar where the king used to (once a year) make sacrifices to the god of the sun. It was basically an elevated cement circle. And World Heritage Site (see what I mean?). Seriously, it was so ordinary and basic, I didn't even take a picture. It would have been a waste of space on my phone.

We then went to pick up my laundry, but it wasn't ready, so we went back to the hotel. I waited around for an hour or so until they delivered my laundry, then I set out on my own this afternoon. I first went to a restaurant recommended by TripAdvisor for a (very) late lunch. It was on the other side of the river, but definitely worth the trip! Not only were the food and wine delicious, but the owner was French, so I got in some practice speaking my French. I find this appropriate because I had a dream last night I was back in high school dealing with my ridiculously inadequate French teacher (not you Mme Jolly - it was that other woman [who I refused to call Mme because that implied that at least something about her was French or at least that she could speak the language]).

At any rate, lunch was great! Walked around and around and along the river. Then came back to the hotel, watched Harry Potter 7.2 in the room and then called it a night! I'm heading to Hoi An and Da Nang tomorrow!!!