Friday in Hue

After being collected from the train station by our hotel we jumped in a cab (which they kindly payed for) and drove the short distance to the hotel...The Amigo Hotel.  We were given traditional Vietnamese coffee, which we are both getting a real taste for now - its quite sweet and nutty in flavour.  We then were showed to our room and chilled out for a while.

Freshened up, we headed out on foot for the Imperial Citadel, across the Perfume River from where we were staying. Hue was formally the capital of Vietnam whilst under the rule of the Nguyen dynasty, before they handed over power to Ho Chi Minh in 1945, and the Citadel was their city within a city. The walk was a pleasant one, apart from the hawkers who try and convince you you need a ride on their Cyclo!

The Citadel was an impressive building; we explored the outer and inner Citadels thoroughly and also ventured into the Forbidden Purple City, which sat in the very centre of both of them.  Unfortunately parts of the City had been destroyed in the French and American wars, however the restoration work that had already taken place had brought the buildings back to their former glory.

We then headed over to a Pagoda on the outer banks of the Perfume River and had a spot of lunch from a local bakery (another speciality left from the 90 year French occupation).

Back to the hotel for a rest and now off out for our first meal in Hue!!