A comfortable Vietnam Airlines flight brought us to Hue in no time. The temperature here is more agreeable than in Hanoi, where day temperatures reach seldom more than 20°C in winter. Also the people seem more warm-blooded, less distant and more friendly than in Hanoi. It seems that the majority of the inhabitants have imperial blood running through their veins. I didn't notice any difference with the Hanoi habitants, but still the city breaths a royal atmosphere thanks to the grandeur of its buildings and it boulevards. Because of the space, the traffic seems less busy (though there are still a lot of scooters).

The city is located at the borders of the Houng Song or Perfume River, known for the medicinal herbs that grow on its borders. In the city you find quite some shops with traditional herb based drugs, as well as drugs derived from reptiles, insects and other animals. And of course the city is known for the palaces and mausoleums of the Nguyen emperors, who ruled from 1802 until 1945, as far as the French allowed them to.

Our hotel is located in the middle of a backpackers quarter, and breakfast was served on the top floor allowing us to enjoy every morning the views on Hue. On the first day upon arrival the view though was disturbed by clouds and rain, so we had to postpone our planned bicycle tour to the next day. In the late morning it stopped raining and we headed to the other side of the river to visit the market, always an adventure in Asia. Regardless our commitments not to buy anything anymore until we arrived in HCMC, we were persuaded to buy some stuff. August made again more 'friends'.

For lunch one of the by trotter recommended restaurants was selected, Lac Thien, where the owner developed his own (patented?) kind of kung fu bottle opener which he demonstrated with a lot of show on 4 beer bottles at the same time. We took some of the openers with us, and at home August will give a demonstration upon request. In the mean time he wants to exercise a lot and we have to drink all these beers.... Burps. The servants in the restaurant are deaf-mute, so it is always a surprise what you get on your plate (not that you would notice if it is not what you ordered with our limited knowledge of Vietnamese) . The specialty of the restaurant are fresh nems, but then literally (you have to roll them yourselves). You can compare it with fajitas: you put meat and vegetable on a rice paper leaf, some salsa and chilli and than you try to fold it until it looks like a nem (little loempia). Messy but delightful.

In the afternoon we visited the citadel, or better the remainings of. A combination of humid (sub) tropical weather, moulds, termites, the war and more specifically the destructive Tet Attack in 1968 (this is not what you are thinking, Mr Corbanie), and a lack of money returned these marvellous buildings and temples in ruins or in the best case damaged buildings. Taking into account that the Nguyen dynasty buildings are only maximum 200 years old, the Forum Romanum in Rome is far better conserved. But luckily this is slowly changing now: with Unesco money and money from private investors, some building are being restored.

The buildings are though much more sober than the Thai temples, very beautiful and well integrated in the landscape. They have a very elegant and poetic appearance. Let the pictures speak! After the cultural bit, we enjoyed a nice local beer at a terrace on the river banks. Did you notice that we look too big for the Asian furniture?