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 Imperial Citadel's giant phoenix-chicken, Hue | Photo by Lauren Girardin We've backed in photos and travel tips to the previous post about Hoi An since they were too numerous to include here, so click here to check them out. Read on for Hue...
Todd and I explore Hue through the kind of precipitation that never attains full rain status, an annoying mist that is more like god is gleeking on you. Clouds hang low and thick, dragged down with the weight of a downpour that thankfully never comes. The cloudy sky washes Hue in a bland gray light that leeches the color from the old royal buildings.
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Vietnam is filled with persistent touts and Hue is as touristy as towns come. As we've wandered Hue's streets, we've been dogged by cyclo rickshaw drivers intent on pedaling us around the royal tombs and pagodas. When we've paused to cross a street or check out a view, we've quickly been swarmed by a pack of cyclos.
 Mosaic lion-dragon-horse | Photo by Lauren Girardin Todd and I linger across from the entry gate into the Imperial Citadel, an attraction as much because some of it survived American bombings during the Vietnam War, as for its architectural beauty.
Out of the corners of our eyes, we see four Vietnamese guys make their way quickly towards us. Without a word, we know that we're about to get pounced by another group of naggy cyclo touts.
Preemptively, without glancing at the touts, Todd and I simultaneously chant "No. No. No. No. No. No."
 Thien Mu Pagoda panorama | Photo by Lauren Girardin As group reaches us, one the men interrupts our repetitive refusal in excellent Vietnamese-accented English, saying"Excuse me. Sorry to bother you. Could you take our photo?"
My and Todd's faces drain of color, left looking much like the monochrome sky. I babble an apology "Oh, wow, sorry for all the 'Nos' it's just that we've been hounded by so many touts that when we saw you walking over we thought..."
 Guardian in pink at the Thien Mu Pagoda | Photo by Lauren Girardin Laughing, the man interrupts, "It's okay, we know how you feel. We have the same problem as you. They never leave us alone either. We're tourists like you. It doesn't matter to them that we're Vietnamese."
After I snap their photo, Todd and I take a moment to reflect on our asinine and embarrassing behavior. Clearly, we've hit a low point in our ability to brush off the infuriating aspects of travel. Our impatience – with touts especially and cyclo drivers in particular – has reached critical dimensions. We've got an attitude problem. So, determined to be better travelers, we shake it off and remind ourselves to keep polite smiles on our faces even if we're gritting our teeth.
Travel Tips – Hue, Vietnam
We are indebted to Vietnamese God and Travelfish.org for leading us to excellent restaurants after we discovered that Lonely Planet's Hue restaurant recommendations served inedible food.
Where we ate:
 Bun thit nuong and Huda beer | Photo by Lauren Girardin
- Quan Ba Hoa, 7 Truong Dinh – A dinky little place doing it right. We got their specialty, which we think was bun hen rice noodles (or you could get rice, com hen) with clams (or were they mussels? or maybe mushrooms?), peanuts, some veggies, fried shallots, and a side of clam juice that you doused as you wanted. There was no menu and no one spoke English, but this tasty, spicy breakfast cost less than a dollar for the both of us: YEH
- Not sure the name, Truong Dinh – Not far from Quan Ba Hoa, this isn't really a restaurant so much as it is a bunch of low tables and stools and a couple of woman manning a makeshift kitchen. Again, no English menu or spoken, but we were served heaping platters of banh, banana leaf wrapped steamed surprises, one flecked with minced pork, one embedded with a shrimp and pork fat, and one sprinkled with fried pork skin and...oh I don't know but they were good. We stuffed ourselves for less than $1.50 US: YEH
- Newspace Arts Foundations, 3 Hung Vuong – We were pretty happy here. As Todd says "Some foo-foo versions, but good." We may have been biased because it was raining (again) and this restaurant was close to our hotel: YEH
- Co Do, 22 Ben Ngue – Usually when you see people always eating at a restaurant in Vietnam, you can take that as a sign that it's good. This place was the exception to that theory. The meat tasted rotten. We left without finishing: NAH
- Ngoc An and DMZ Bar, Phan Ngu Lao neighborhood – Though our Lonely Planet recommended both, both were some of the most horrible food we've had in months. At Ngoc An we left after a few attempts at swallowing what they served us. It was pouring rain, so we ran into DMZ to escape the wet, and even our desperation couldn't make their pizza anything but cardboard: NAH and NAH
- Lac Thien, 6 Dinh Tien Hoang – According to the large sign outside this dive restaurant, they have been recommended by all the guidebooks, including Lonely Planet, which seems to have dropped Lac Thien. Why is a mystery because the restaurant and it's cheesy, friendly deaf owner was a gem. We ordered off their local Hue foods page and everything was fantastic: YEH!
- Mandarin Cafe - Every year we host a "Leftovers Potluck" the Sunday after Thanksgiving, so we were craving turkey sandwiches loaded with cheese and bacon, we had to settle for chicken, but Mandarin was happy to make our special orders: YEH
- Bun thit nuong shop, on road to Thien Mu Pagoda after the bridge – Look for the "bun thit nuong" sign in this basic food shop. They have a minuscule menu of bun thit nuong, grilled pork and pork ball noodle soup (an amazing bowl), and fresh rice noodle rolls: YEH
- Bo De Vegetarian - Maybe "Bode." We walked by a couple of times before thinking..."Yeah, we like vegetarian food,let's go there." The "seven wonders" salad was crunchy fun, the curry tofu was spicy and filling, and chewy jackfruit and mushroom salad was a standout: YEH
Where we stayed:
- Hai Dang Hotel, 43 Hung Vuong - A completely forgettable hotel, who were unable to help us with anything. Probably not worth seeking out, but honestly, we can barely remember: MEH
What we saw:
- Marble Mountain - The Sinh Cafe bus from Hoi An to Hue made a stop at this site, which was a nice bonus to the ride. We didn't have a lot of time to explore, but the towering cave was worth a spelunk for its Buddhist imagery in unusual places. Bring a strong headlamp or flashlight, it's dark and damp: YEH
- Imperial Citadel - A large complex enclosing the Nguyen royal court buildings that survived bombardment by the French and Americans. If you went on a rare sunny day in Hue, it would probably be more impressive. The most odd sight was the giant chicken, I mean phoenix, left over from some art collaboration and abandoned, along with a dragon, on the Forbidden City grounds: MEH
- Thien Mu Pagoda - We took a leisurely bike ride over the Trang Tien Bridge and along the Perfume River to this pagoda complex. A pleasant building, view of the river, and the odd display of the car that monk Thich Quang Duc drove before immolating himself while protesting the war. The bun cha lunch we found on the way back (see above) was a nice bonus: YEH
- Tomb of Tu Duc - A sprawling complex of decaying buildings, moldering mosaics, and moody landscape. Well worth the back road bike ride there: YEH
- Green Bamboo Art Gallery - We succumbed to consumerism and bought a small water color. The price was fair: YEH
Photos from Hue, Vietnam
If you can't see the photo slide show above, view the photo set on Flickr.
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