Tombing - Not Tubing - 13th November 2009

Finally a touch of culture on our travels – Hue up until 1945 was the capital of Vietnam and home to the Emperor’s Palace. We went on a day trip to see the Citadel which was the old city and the emperors palace and then to see the tombs of the dead emperors. There was some stunning architecture and the photos will be up in flickr soon. It ended up with a ‘dragon’ boat ride up the river.

While on the trip I actually met a guy called Alex who worked in the Railway which is the pub at the end of my road – we even knew some of the same people – it is a small world after all!

A: Having decided to move on the next day it was time to confirm the bus ticket before the morning – what a run around that turned out to be! The hotel said our ticket needed to be confirmed by the tour operator and gave me directions to go there. When I went in they said the ticket we had (just a slip of paper – stupido!) wasn’t theirs and to basically go away. I went back to the hotel to try to contact the tour office in Halong Bay or Hanoi and started to check out trains as a last resort. On my way back to the pub (where Liam was all the while!) I met the couple we had followed and they told us to go to this other place they had been to and sort it out there. The woman in the office was not 100% but said she’d check with Hanoi and to come back at 8am in the morning for the proper ticket. When we arrived (with bags and all) there was yet more hassle and it was only when I was able to show them on a map the two offices we’d been to (in both Halong Bay and Hanoi) that they finally gave in and gave us the official ticket. Thank god I’d met that couple the night before or else we would have had to pay twice! LESSON LEARNED: any future tickets if not on official paper should most definitely be accompanied by a business card to contact the place of purchase!