No Hue!

The ancient city of Hue is both ancient and a city. After the overnight bus ride which was much helped by a dose of Tylenol PM, we took ourselves on a groggy self-guided tour of the citadel. It was interesting and enormous and right in the middle of the city - we recommend stopping if you're in the neighborhood.



The next day, we went on the popular boat tour of the ancient tombs surrounding Hue. Vietnam is all about the tour, as are the foreign tourists who visit Vietnam, so we thought we'd give it a shot. I think we were sort of unsure how to proceed after the parental units departed, and we didn't remember exactly what our traveling style consisted of. Plus, we like boats and looking at stuff, so how bad could it be? We cannot emphasize enough how bad this tour is. Suffice it to say that it was both boring and exhausting, though some beautiful things were seen, albeit at a glacial pace. This tour also allowed us to witness a meltdown by a 45 year old woman over a 60 cent beverage that required a series of urgent cell phone calls (obviously she was American - and from the East coast). It was at this point that we vowed to never again participate in a tour.

On the plus side, we discovered our new favorite photographic endeavor: spelling our names with our bodies in front of various scenic and historic places (which are much obscured by our limbs). Kate really excels at the T, while Kyle is a clear favorite in the Y category. We both struggle with Es.