Monday, January 24, 2011

Notes from Vietnam

A few things.
  • Remember in the previous post when I mentioned I had requested curry from the Chef at The Nam Hai resort? Well I got it, and it was awesome. So bloody good (I think you can guess that Id use a different word instead of bloody – go on, guess!) I think I ate my meal in five minutes – no joke. And sadly so far the BEST meal I've had since I've been here. Not sure what that means. Ok maybe I do - a little. I came to Vietnam specifically for their cuisine, and so far my favourite meal was Indian food made by an Indian Chef? Hmmmm.

  • Weather-wise, it's not warm here - at all. There is nothing to be envious of my fellow Canadians (and a few northern Americans). I may be away from the snow, but it's cold, it's bleak and it's been raining for the past two days now. I asked my guide if this was normal for this time of year and for where I am (I'm currently in Hue which is sort of midway between north and south Vietnam). The answer was no. So this weird weather phenomenon that's occurring around the world (floods in Australia; snowstorms in London) isn't skipping Vietnam. Believe me.

  • I will say that Hue is a nice place to be, almost a nice as Hoi An. I went on a tour today of the Imperial Citadel of Hue, Emperor Tu Doc's tomb and grounds as well as a traditional Garden Home. Just a mention about the visit to the Garden Home. These homes are such a unique part of Hue. They are all privately owned, and are set in really beautiful gardens. The owners of these homes usually live abroad, so the homes are tended to by local caretakers. But the best part of the day was going to the citadel and hearing about royalty. Gotta say that I loved the stories; betrayal, drama, lust, death - all your typical family stuff haha. My guide goes to me, all serious like: "do you know why the Emperor had Concubines?" I answered "because he was a big ho?" Apparently that was the wrong answer. Turns out it was because he couldn't have children so he filled that spot with women. Concubines – a lovely choice for beautiful, educated women in those days. Although I am being VERY sarcastic there, sadly there was some truth to that, according to my guide. See what I mean about the stories? Too much. The clothes, the palaces, the furniture? All over the top. All this proved to me, is that royalty can be tacky too (something I already deduced having watched the Royal Family of England over the years - yeah, good luck with that Kate Middleton), except they can get away with it because they're famous! Sheesh. All in all a pretty pleasant afternoon.

    A few pics from the visit to the Imperial Citadel of Hue, Emperor Tu Docs tomb and the Garden Home to go along with the post!

    Imperial Citadel of Hue




    A Hue Garden Home




    Emperor Tu Doc's Tomb



6 comments:

  1. It looks beautiful. How old did you say the Citadel was?

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  2. It was built in the early 19th century and took about thirty years to build so it's not as old as you'd think it should be! It was beautiful - it's probably be better to look at if it wasn't raining though!!

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  3. hahahah love your word choice...my fave was the "bloody"♥

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  4. "Royalty can be tacky too" -Steve ....LOL

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  5. Hey it's totally true - everyone knows it but we're just not allowed to say - out loud at least! :)

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  6. Hey I really like the pic of that flower you took!

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