Today, we’re taking the train to Hue. We’re happy because it’s the first time we take the train in Vietnam and we are really looking forward to experiencing it. And right at the station, we’re not disappointed! Everyone is on the tracks to get on board. Once inside, the woman sitting with us has brought her entire kitchen with her so she can have a good meal, there is a live chicken in a box next to us and agents are serving all kinds of food from their trolleys. Not just snacks mind you, but real food. As you know, we are experiencing food in Vietnam but we’ve decided not to push our luck here. We have Oreo cookies in our bag afterall. On the train, Côme studies and watches a cartoon, Doo is “working” on the blog and Julia is reading. The scenery is quite beautiful. We’re following the coast and going through deep jungles. We told you it was slow, right? Well, it is. It takes us 3h to do 90 km. But the ride is worth it.
Once in Hue, we walk to our homestay and stop on the way at a food trolley. A woman is preparing fish shaped waffles for 10 cents a piece. You can choose an ingredient to put inside. We choose chocolate. They are delicious and even though we only stay in this city for a day, we’ll end up spending 3€ there (we’ll let you count how many fishes that is ;). Julia will buy one waffle with a different ingredient once, just to try it out. But guess who’s gonna bite into that spicey waffle in the middle of the night?… Doo. As soon as we get to our very nice homestay, we rent a scooter and ride it towards the countryside to explore an abandonned aquatic park. We are really enjoying riding the scooter. It allows us to go to places we couldn’t otherwise, go off the beaten track and explore at our own pace. We love the freedom to be able to stop whenever we find something we like or go where we feel like going. And we are really enjoying the outskirts of Hue.
When we reach the entrance of the park, there is a guard and a barrier. He “tells” us we have to go back but Doo walks towards him to “google translate” that we just want to see the dragon building. He has read on the internet that the guard would let people enter if you’d give him a bit of money. The guard doesn’t even wait for the translation and actually shows Doo that he can ride the scooter inside of the park. So that’s what we do. We enter the park and start to explore. There is a lake, abandonned infrastructures and, to our surprise, a small mini-mart that is still open… And in the far distance we see the dragon building we have come here to see. So that’s where we go. On our way there, we cross path with about 6 other scooters and the people on them tell us we have to go back. We just continue on. At the end of the line, the guard is on a scooter of his own, he is escorting them out of and when he sees us, he just puts a finger on his mouth and with a slight movement of the head indicates that we can continue on. So that’s what we do. We keep silent and go on. When we arrive at the building, an old sculpture of Harry Potter’s ford anglia rests nearby, in the woods. We have arrived in the forbiden forest.
The gigantic monster lies on the lake so we take one of the bridges to get to it and explore its lair, an incredible abandonned structure. There are graffitis everywhere and shattered glasses from the old fish tanks. The fantastic beast stands tall above the building but Côme is not afraid. He punches the dragon’s hand to escape its claws. Soon, however, we find ourselves inside of the creature’s belly, swallen in darkness. But like heroes of old, braving the stentch and many dangers, we find the path of light and reach the majestic creature’s mouth. Other young heroes are there, taking selfies and even flying a drone… Oh well, it was an epic adventure anyway. ^^
When we ride the scooter back to the entrance, we cross path with the guard once more. Doo stops to thank him and give him a bakshish. The guard does not say a word and doesn’t take the money but once again, with a slight movement of the head, he points at his hat hanging on the handlebar. Doo thank him once more and puts the money inside of the hat. This guard is as fantastic as the beast we’ve just encountered. He is doing his job, telling people they can’t come in and not taking any bribes but you know… loopholes… We are in awe. 😀
In the evening, we check some of the restaurant adresses our host has given us. A local noodle restaurant (not bad, but not great either), a popular banh mi shack (absolutely disgusting, on par with the one in Hoi An) and a trendy sweet soup store. When we arrive at the soup store we see different marmittes containing “things”. Doo is a bit skeptical and tired of trying “unpleasant” food but Julia is up for the challenge once more. So we ask for more precision regarding the ingredients of the different stews and, after a 5 minute explanation, we go for a mix of beans, coconut and sweet potato. The woman pours us a ladle of each soup and we end up with a purple whitish molasses in a cup. Once again, it looks disgusting and once again, it is delicious ! So we go for a second serving. One thing is certain in Vietnam, their sweet soups look aweful but they are awefully delicious!
After a quick stroll in the trendy neighborhood, we decide to call it a night. Côme and Julia have a date with the spa in our room tonight. Tomorrow, we fly to Hanoï in the evening for a quick stopover. We’ll go back to the countryside to explore some more and eat the delicious fish shaped chocolate wafles of course.
In Hue, Côme:
Did not understand: why the train was going through the forest.
Learnt: that the trains were going really slow.
Liked: to walk on the train tracks and the sweet soups.
Julia:
Did not understand: what was there to do in the abandonned park before it was abandonned.
Learnt: that one could eat sweet soups and that they were good.
Liked: the scooter rides in the countryside.
Doo:
Did not understand: why the doors to the train platform were locked until the train had arrived (but then realized everyone had to walk on the tracks to get on the train).
Learnt: Vietnamese kids celebrated Halloween.
Loved: the fish shaped waffles (except the spicey one).