A Hue Day Aventure

Those of you who know me well know that I am not a very adventuresome eater. I have made an exception for this trip. In the last two days I have eaten squid, river mussels, strange concoctions of rice with fish sauce, vegetables, and pork, and even shrimp in a white gelatin made from sticky rice. All were pretty good actually, but not as good as Festival beer, the beer of southern Vietnam.

This is all a lead in to our day. The morning was spent with a cooking expert who has studied in France. As Julia said, "she is a Vietnamese Kathy Leis," except for the cooking skills and the singing (she liked us so much she sang to us in the car). Needless to say, she and Kathy hit it off and she held Kathy's arm everywhere we went. Stops were all to sample local cuisine and to visit the local market. That is what has made traveling with this tour company so special -- the deliberate interactions with local guides and others who are genuinely warm and welcoming. Our tour guide even made us a copy of her poetry--quite impressive and thoughtful. Traveling as our own group has made that even more special.

This afternoon included a visit to the imperial palace, or what is left of it after we bombed it. Those here say, proudly, that they will have it restored in 50 years or so. And our guide (who has two adult children) described hiding out for 25 days with only rice to eat to survive a Viet Cong attack. More stories to tell when we return.

After the palace, our guide put is in a "cyclo," a rickshaw pushed by a bike, for one person only. We careened through the streets with almost no stoplights. Also, when crossing the street, we learned to "shuffle" so that the cars, motorcycles, and bikes simply drive around you. It's scary but it works.

The cyclo took us to the ancient pagoda where we caught the 4 PM workshop service with the Buddhist monks singing and chanting. After that we boarded a small dragon boat for a trip down the river back to our hotel. The family that owns the boat lives on it with their four children. Hard to imagine.

Kathy and Julia are off to massages and I am about to go searching for another Festival beer. The quote of the day aptly describes our travels and comes from a tag I saw on a woman's purse at the pagoda: "Adventure Before Dementia"

Amen.