Hue

Spent a full day here among the tourists and vendors. After chasing down a well reviewed french bakery in town (with half decent pain au chocolate, nothing like the divine ones in Hanoi), we headed across the "Perfume River" to the imperial citadel.

Pain au chocolate - I think we may have to wait until France to match the perfection of the ones in Hanoi

Perfume River

I'm not really sure what this face is about

 The history is interesting, more so because of how much was destroyed in bombings after the communist armies took Hue during the Vietnam war. Much of the old structures are slowly being restored/rebuilt. Central Vietnam has been interesting to travel through because it was a major scene for much of the conflict during the war. 30+ years later it's hard to see the effect on daily life as Americans travelling through. There are plenty of communist victory monuments and museums, and seeing street vendors trying to make a few thousand Dong selling replicas of GI paraphernalia, including close reproductions of zippo lighters (about $4) with custom soldier engravings, it's hard to reconcile a lot of what actually happened.

In any case, we spent a lot of time wandering around the grounds of the citadel with a large mix of European and Vietnamese visitors.

2000 VND to feed the gigantic Koi

I was seconds away from climbing on that thing before reading this

We scooted back to the area of our hotel to get lost a bit down random streets, trying to scope out promising cheap spots for dinner. The deep fried spiced vegetable filled pastries were perfectly savory and delicious, and while passing a young woman grilling pork skewers over a small bed of coals on the side of one street, the unmistakable aroma focused our appetite.

Although a bit early for dinner, when we walked by another younger girl pulling a wire basket full of crackling, perfectly golden pork, our hesitation was more than enough for the woman behind the tables of various accouterments to beckon us in. We sat down at one of the ubiquitous plastic tables (always with the red plastic stools) that have become so charming to us in this country, and were quickly presented with bowls of Bun Thit Nuong (Rice Noodles with Grilled Pork). Fresh vermicelli noodles, chunks of freshly grilled, sweet marinated pork, various greens (including spearmint, a refreshing surprise), slices of cucumber, carrot, crumbled peanuts, and a mild sweet peanut sauce. Add a bit of homemade chili paste, mix thoroughly (I started to eat but was quickly encouraged/corrected by our chef host to mix a bit more), and enjoy. This was easily one of the best things we've had in the country so far. The pork was perfectly tender, just enough sweet, rendered fat balanced by just the right amount of char from the coals. Actually some of the best pork I've had in my life. We emptied our bowls in a few blissful minutes, and our smiling, clearly proud host came over to offer us another course - Nem Lui. Freshly grilled skewers of minced, seasoned pork served with another mix of greens, cucumber, and slices of star fruit, lightly pickled carrot and daikon slaw, another bowl of the same peanut sauce, and a stack of rice paper. We were given a brief tutorial of how to construct rolls and took right to it. Hard to follow the first act, but these were wonderfully balanced (just the right amount of acid from the star fruit) and just fantastic. The experience reaffirmed the growing notion that we should be spending as much time during this trip sitting down and eating with the locals - the charm was enhanced by the constant nods of approval and pride from our chef, as well as it being clear that we were sitting just in front of her house (the scattered piles of kids' shoes by the door were a tip off). It didn't hurt that we left the stall completely satiated for a mere 60,000 VND (<$3.00).

We meandered a bit away from the obvious tourist haunts, by the produce markets that we've become quite fond of, and down an increasingly residential street that was specked with more housefront restaurants, full of the same plastic seating, with large simmering pots over tiny gas powered portable burners emanating beautiful aromas that almost made us wish we weren't so wonderfully full. We walked by one young girl with a bubbling oil filled wok, a few bunches of ripe bananas and a pot of light batter. After a double and then triple take at the golden fried fritters that were lined up in front of her, we couldn't resist turning back and picking one up (2000 VND). Lightly sweet, perfectly fried - soft and ripe in the center and crunchy on the edges. It was gone in a few seconds and we unabashedly turned around to buy another, welcomed by a grin from the girl selling them. We're definitely taking notes here.

Back to the hotel to unwind a bit (and digest) over our complimentary beers from the hotel's sister restaurant a few storefronts down the street. Hard to believe tomorrow will be our last day on the bike. I'm becoming more determined to find a way to reprise this mode of travel throughout the trip. Stay tuned.