A "Hue" We Go!

Okay, so the title is slightly goofy, but I couldn't resist. Last week I had the chance to visit a new city in Vietnam. You guessed it...Hue! When my friend C said she and her boyfriend J wanted to come visit me in Vietnam, I knew central Vietnam would give them a great view of Vietnam outside of the hustle and bustle of larger cities like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Since I'm leaving in just three short months, it would also give me a chance to visit a city that I hadn't yet seen.

Hue is located in central Vietnam and is the imperial capital of the country. There is lots to see in Hue, including several UNESCO World Heritage Sites. We stepped off the plan at 7:00 am to a balmy 85 degrees that continued to rise throughout the day. We dropped our bags off at our hotel, had some coffee, and dove right into the history of Hue. Our first stop was The Citadel. After a sweltering walk to The Citadel (the temperature hit 104 our first day!), we wandered around the remains of the walled city--the Forbidden Purple City--where many lords of the Nguyen Dynasty used to live. Due to the intense heat, we took a lot of breaks in the shade to take in the atmosphere and catch up with one another. Sufficiently hungry after our super early morning breakfast and travels, we headed back toward our hotel to finally check in, freshen up, and cool down before setting off in search of some good Hue grub.

The 3 regions of Vietnam (north, central, and south) have very distinct food, and Hue has a long history of traditional food. They used to serve kings after all! At our first outing, we tried banh khoai, a deep-fried pancake (looks like an empanada to me) filled with shrimp, which is a Hue speciality. I prefer Hanoi's banh xeo, which isn't deep fried and has much more flavor, but it was good to check another traditional food off of my list.

Day 2 was spent on a whirlwind tour of some of Hue's other fascinating sites. Many of the kings built tombs in their honor, often designed and constructed when they were still alive. We spent another scorcher (106 degrees!) touring 3 of the most famous tombs, taking a boat ride on the Perfume River, checking out a traditional house (men and women had to enter the house differently!), and learning about the various fruit trees that grow in Hue (and even sampling some!). We ended our day with probably the most interesting meal I have ever had in my life. I wasn't feeling like a traditional Vietnamese meal that night, so I ordered a Western inspired dish from the menu. I am usually hesitant of ordering hamburgers in Vietnam because you never know about the quality of the beef. I've had some pretty bad burgers here. I decided to order a vegetarian burger. Vegetarianism isn't a popular concept in Vietnam, but I've had some great veggie burgers in Hanoi, so I decided to go for it. When my food came, I was totally perplexed as to what the "patty" was made of. One bite and I knew...it was mashed potatoes with small peas and carrots plopped on a bun with lettuce and ketchup. It didn't look or sound desirable, but amazingly enough, it tasted good. Check out my picture below of the craziest vegetarian burger ever.

View of The Citadel.

Me and C inside The Citadel.

Sunset over the Perfume River in Hue.

The strange yet delicious veggie burger.

Statue outside of one of the tombs.

Different kinds of incense.
We got to watch a woman make it.

Me at one of the tombs.