Hue and Hoi'An

After leaving the hustle and bustle of Hanoi, we were excited to relax for a short while in central Vietnam. We arrived in Hue on an overnight train at 8 am and immediately got out to explore the city. Hue was the imperial capital of the Nyugen emperors, so we spent our first afternoon wandering the forbidden city, in which only the emperor, his concubines and eunuchs were allowed. We ate some great Hue food, notably Nem lui, a sort of make your own rice paper spring roll and banh nam, a steamed cake of rice flour and sprimp in a banana leaf. All very yummy. The second day in Hue Erin got a litttle ill, but we saw some of the Imperial tombs and did some more eating (video to come)!

Hoi' An, formally known as Faifo, was a great trading capital in the 18th century, but today is a sleepy little town with tons of charm. We fortuitously arrived on a festival night and were treated to an absolutely amazing evening of traditonal Vietnamese performance, river boat cruising and lantern lit streets straight out of what seemed to us the Vietnam of past centuries! We've had so much fun in central Vietnam, but we're on the way to Saigon in the south so it's back to the city. Cheers!