Vietnam - Day 2

I know what you're thinking. You're looking at the picture of the breakfast feast we enjoyed at the Kim Do Hotel, and you're thinking, "This is Vietnam?" Ho Chi Minh City is very much an international destination, catering not only to Americans but to visitors from around the globe. Yes, our first breakfast in Vietnam was delicious and abundant!





After breakfast, we had a couple hours to do a wee bit of sight-seeing near our hotel. We were greeted by throngs of motorbikes plying the streets and by vendors hawking their wares and an occasional breakfast on the sidewalks. Ho Chi Minh City is a thriving metropolis of over 7 million. I think each one has a motorbike! We didn't have much time to look around as we were scheduled to fly north just after lunch. So, after a brief look around we were off to the airport once again.

After a flight of an hour or so, we arrived in Hue around 4:00 pm local time. There we boarded two small busses and met our drivers, Bee and Nat. These two would be our drivers, luggage handlers, tour guides, and friends for the next 13 days. Both are fun to be around and have a great sense of humor.

Our busses slowly worked north into the city of Hue. All along the way we wound through throngs of bicycles, motorbikes, and foot traffic. So much traffic...every one going somewhere. Bicycles and motorbikes are heavily laden with all manor of goods...fruits, vegetables, boxes, livestock...one guy even had a refrigerator tied down to the back of his motorbike! The weather was warm and humid, temps in the low 90's even this far north. Yet, many of the Vietnamese wore long sleeves, some wearing hoodies and light jackets. All we could do was roll up our windows and crank up the air!



We continued to wind through the streets of Hue until we reached the Huong (Perfume) River. We pull in to the Huong Giang Hotel around 5:00 pm. We are told we have an hour until supper...a river boat supper cruise on the Perfume River. When we arrive for dinner, a surprise awaits us. We are to don traditional robes for this feast on the river!

Supper was interesting to say the least. The catch phrase became "similar yet different" at one table and "don't ask, don't tell" at another. The nine course meal consisted of soups, salads using local greens, shrimp (prawns with the heads still attached!) beef wrapped in rice leaves, chicken, and of course rice and fish. Our entertainment was a trio playing traditional instruments to accompany a small chorus of young ladies. We enjoyed this very different music as we floated up and down the Perfume River.



The evening finally came to an end for the weary travelers...so back to the hotel for some sleep. We now spend our second night in Vietnam.

One side note: Hue is in the center of Vietnam, just south of the 17th parallel that once seperated north from south Vietnam. The Communist influence is very strong here. We have been told that restrictions and attitudes towards Americans will ease as we travel south. Tomorrow we pick up our motorbikes and the real journey begins!!