Hue and the Perfume River

Grampa did a great job yesterday organizing a Perfume River adventure! We were picked up at our hotel, Waterland, near the river in Hue and taken to a really neat boat for a trip to some pagodas, temples and the citadel. A Vietnamese couple with a small boy and a baby girl were our driver and cook for the day. When we got off the boat, we were taken on the back of motorbikes to several temples. I was pretty proud of everyone for taking another motorbike trip because it can be pretty scary at times. Some huge trucks were coming towards us on some sandy, narrow roads and our expert drivers didn't even bat an eyelash. Personally I think I am pretty much finished with Vietnamese motorbike adventures!!

We treated ourselves to a lovely dinner at an Italian restaurant called Little Italy near our hotel in Hue after visiting an incredible market inside a building on the other side of the river. Everything was for sale. We were looking for a few tshirts in particular but it was so overwhelming that we ran out of that place as fast as we could to find somewhere calmer, cooler and less chaotic. I think living in Asia for me is a constant challenge (struggle?) to find an oasis! As I type this, some young women are sitting near me, listening to their music on their phones and talking at the top of their voices. I gotta skidaddle.

Tomorrow we will check into the Victoria Hotel down the road where some friends we met in Halong Bay are staying...we went for dinner tonight and realized we had to move over. Most nights we have been very happy with our hostelworld.com bookings but this time, the surroundings of the hotel are so run down and derelict, dangerous with construction and dead animals, that we have to move! Sayonara Cua Dai Beach Hotel. Xin Ciao to the Victoria! (thanks for your support, Papa, as usual! And hope your ankle gets better soon!)