Hue: retaining its character

Hue is a very old city, one with history and former power.  I traveled on a day bus from Hoi an to Hue, about a five hour bus ride along route 1 which sits besides coast.  This was my second time to Hue and like Hoi an I feel like I am coming back to these cities with eyes that are more open, that can see more of the intricacies instead of the simplicities.  Hue is a much larger city than Hoi an, thus is not as dependant on tourism.  There is a pace of life here that has not been as disrupted by the tourist trade as in Hoi an or there places like Mui Ne.  The perfume river divides the city, on one side is the incredible citadel with its labyrinth of streets inside and outside it’s walls.  The other bank is the more modern part of the city where commerce and the hotels are concentrated.  I rode my motorbike around most of the city and then ventured out into the countryside and proceeded to get nice and lost.  Unlike other places where there is something fixed in the landscape to help you mark your way, Hue does not have tall buildings and once you are in the rice paddies you can get turned around rather easily.  Thankfully I carry helpful maps and a compass

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Hue is where many of the foods that we see around Vietnam originated.  The story goes that the emperor of Vietnam was a real glutton and demanded 100 new dishes every time he sat down for his dinner.  There must have been a lot of innovation during his reign, which has trickled down into modern Vietnamese cuisine.  I found a couple of good places while I was there but I was also in Hue for the lunar calendar change and Vietnamese Independence Day.  Both of these events meant that options were a bit limited.  The transition of the lunar calendar means that many people forgo meat for the day and only eat vegetarian.  It also means that people actually take a day off and close their shops and take a much need day of rest. 

On my first full day in Hue I was taking pictures of the citadel, when a man and his wife pulled up to me and started talking to me.  With big smiles the man said that he wanted to practice his English.  I followed him to a riverside restaurant where we ordered shrimp and a steamed fish, which was wrapped in rice paper.   

Besides the great food the generosity and friendliness of this man and his wife was really sweet.  It was a great first day in the city.  The next day I again rode my bike around the city and into the countryside.  The countryside is literally rice and nothing more.  Fields as far as the eye can see with rice in different cycles of life.  Some green, some dried, some being burned so that the ash can be used as fertilizer.   At some points I had to hold my breath, the smoke was so bad.  Unlike other parts of Vietnam where it is harder to get off the beaten path the area around Hue seems untouched my bus tours or even Lonely Planter’s.  While getting lost I stumbled upon a really nice market.  When I stopped my bike the market literally shifted, their gaze fixing on me as I took out my camera and started walking through the market.  This market was a 100% woman, like waking into a baby shower.   Thankfully I was able to haggle for some nice mangosteen and take some nice pics of a very country style market. 

The last full day I had in Hue was the day when no one was eating meat.  I am an omnivore in the truest sense and see vegetables as just as a good as meat.  I have no trouble going vegetarian for a day as long as the meal is of substance.  On my ride around the outer walls of the citadel I had stopped to take some pictures of all the Vietnamese flags that had been raised for Independence Day.  Sometimes Vietnam and its cities can look like a cacophony of sounds and sights.  If you take a while to slow down and adjust to the pace of life, the layers of the onion start to peel away and you can see the microcosms of life happening every couple of feet.  When I was taking pictures I noticed a woman sitting around a large stockpot of something that was steaming.  As I sat on my motorbike and just watched I could see that hordes of people were descending on her, like bees to their queen.

This woman was making a very hearty tofu soup.  The soup consisted of a light vegetable stock that was fortified with annatto seed oil for color, potato and squash, rice noodles and young bamboo.  In addition, you were given a bowl of greens and herbs plus a large piece of dried rice paper cracker with sesame seeds for added crunch.  The most difficult part of the meal was the fermented tofu paste that was placed on top of the soup.  Think of something like fermented blue cheese but made by an amateur and you will get the idea.  I could have enjoyed the soup with just the excellent chili sauce but I had to have it the way the others were eating it.  This sauce is the kind of thing you want you and your lover to eat together so that when you two kiss later one won’t disgust the other.  This was a great street food dish besides the noxious tofu paste. 

Another factor that separates Vietnam from its other Asian neighbors is the amount of public space available to its citizens.  For example, the city of Bangkok has only one real large public park in the city.  This is a shame because it does not create a city that can really be called a city.  A city should be a place where people can stretch their legs, throw a ball or just sit in one place without having to pay a cent.  Because of the strong legacy of the French who very much believed in public space as a way to improve the quality of life of it’s citizens, Vietnam has been gifted many public parks.

Hue is no different; along both banks of the Perfume River there are large public parks and very modern sculpture.  These sculpture parks, which exist all around Vietnam represent for me the modern and first world inclinations that this country feels.   This is a culture that is looking ahead instead of chewing on the past.  The juxtaposition of the old citadel across the street from one of these sculpture parks is a great thing to see and improves the parks even more by offering more than just trees and shade but high quality public art to the masses made my many international and local artists.  

Hue is a city that is big enough to retain its identity in the face of large-scale tourism.  Yes there are certainly touristy parts of the city and many places catering to you as a traveler but unlike Hoi an this city maintains it’s character.  Hue is one of my favorite places in Vietnam, not because of the age of its buildings but because of its people and pace of life.