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April 02, 2007
Hello from Hue, Vietnam!
Hi all,
I've been meaning to post here for a few days but I have to admit after getting in to Saigon on Thursday night, I have been wanting to check out places more than sit in front of a computer! Most hotels now offer free Internet and today I'm writing from Binh Minh Sunrise II hotel in Hue, a town in central Vietnam.
I left San Francisco on Wednesday morning (March 28th). Thanks to a good friend of mine (merci Adriana et Scott!), I was flying stand-by to Hong-Kong and then to Saigon. But as it goes with stand-by, I wasn't sure until the very last minute if I would get on the plane. A few minutes before they closed the doors, they finally called my name and I ran up to the counter with a big smile on my face. Thirteen hours later, I arrived in Hong Kong and was pleasantly surprised when they upgraded me to Business Class for the flight to Saigon. With only one other person in Business, I got personalized service. (The flight attendant called me Miss Goupil every time she would bring me something!) Transitioning from Hong Kong where you can buy the latest gadgets, tablet PCs and Chanel bags to Saigon where Duty Free shops sell toothpaste and mouth wash was a trip in itself.
After one night by myself in Saigon, I flew to Danang and took a taxi to Hoi An to meet Josh. We're now in Hue and leaving for Bach Ma national park tomorrow. Today, we took a cyclo ride around the old town of Hue where American tanks and bunkers can still be seen. Out of some 300 colonial houses, only about 80 remain. Our driver, Tinh, was great and showed us around the old city. He explained that his father died at the DMZ line during the war and that he chose to work with tourists because he wants to tell people how much he hates war. After his father died, he studied Buddhism for 7 years in a pagoda outside of the city. Once the cyclo tour was over, he got two motor bikes and took us to a few pagodas and temples outside of Hue including the one he studied in. You probably all remember the picture of the monk who set himself on fire in Saigon, well it turns out that he studied in Tinh's pagoda when he was young.
Tonight we're checking out a restaurant where customers get a free meal (of fish dishes) if they can catch a fish. I'll let you know how Josh and I do!
Tomorrow we're headed to Bach Ma national park so I probably won't be able to check e-mails for a few days. I tried posting some pictures today but wasn't successful. Hopefully by the time we're in Hanoi, I'll have it figured out and will post some!
Helene
Posted by insideoutmag at April 2, 2007 04:09 AM
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