It aint coca cola (or pizza), it's rice

March 1, 2010
Hue

I'm not sure if it was the filthy overnight bus or getting flu infested seawater up my nose in Hoi An, but on my last day there, I got a cold. Being sick when you are alone is no fun. Being sick when you are alone in a small town in Vietnam flat out sucks. Pharmacies are hard to come by and Kleenex does not exist. The worst part, though, is not having anyone to complain to about how rotten you feel. (I tried it on my guest house desk clerk and she had hot lemon tea sent up to my room, which was a nice touch and earned her a good tip.)

I left the States properly stocked with cold prevention items: Emergen-c, Wellness Formula, multi vitamins and a whole arsenal of other stuff. What I somehow forgot were cold remedies. If you want valium or codiene, you can buy it at the pharmacy here. Comtrex or Alka Seltzer Cold is a bit harder to come by. Problem was none of the dosages or ingredients were in English, so I had no idea what I was buying. I settled on cough drops and some pills that were pretty useless and got on the bus to Hue feeling stuffy, achey and miserable.

I had met an Easy Rider (the semi-legit motorcycle group that takes tourists on bike tours throughout the country) at my hotel in Hoi An. He was trying to sell me a 3 day bike trip via the Hai Van Pass and Ho Chi Minh trail up to Hue. I was not interested, but I liked the guy and took his phone number. I did some research on him, and he had all around good reviews. He recommended a guest house in Hue, and that's where I went upon arrival. It was my first step down, into a 12 dollar a night room. It was basic, but clean and would serve as my home for the next 2 nights.

Maybe it was the cold, maybe being alone for awhile was getting to me, but Hue did absolutely nothing for me. I wanted to leave the second I got there. It's just a noisy, dirty, loud and hot city. It was hotter than anyplace I'd been in Vietnam. The xe om (motor bike) and taxi drivers here were pushier than most places, and spoke exceptionally good English. One guy followed me for half a block, trying to make conversation and get a fare. "Oh, madame, i see you have tattoo. I show for you good tattoo place...bla bla bla." "Sorry, man, but i am walking" "Oh, MAAAAAAAAAAN you must be from USA lady. MAAAAAAAAAAAN!" I was hot, sick, pissed off and would have cursed him out if I knew it would have any impact at all. Instead I kept walking to the Citadel.

The Citadel is in a state of renovation, with the Emperor's private temples and living quarters the first to be completed. It's a massive structure enclosed by two moats, 2 walls and noticeable everywhere by its giant commanding flag tower. The destruction is still a major part of it, with bullet holes and crumbled buildings throughout the property. I found it interesting how much work was being done on the restoration and none on the recent history; seems as though the government wants it all restored to its former glories with no homage to all the people who died there, on both sides of both wars. It kind of reminded me of the Roman Forum, except the destruction was mostly caused by man and in the last 60 years. Still, for all its history, it was a quiet and peaceful place and I lingered there as long as possible before going out into the ugly former capital.

Just when I was about to give up, two good things happened. I met a great group of people to have dinner with. We were all sick of noodles and rice, so we went for pizza. One guy was from Sicily, so we had the common ground of real pizza to talk about.I'm not sure if it made me hungry or homesick, but our Vietnamese pizza wasn't terrible and I was happy to know I was not the only person in this country who did not want to look at another plate of rice. Although, everything here is made from rice flour, including the baguettes and our sort of tasty pizza crust. Upon returning, I ran (literally) into the Easy Rider guy who I'd met in Hoi An. He seemed so happy he gave me a hug.

The following morning, he took me on a tour of pagodas, Emperors' tombs, the American bunker (hell of a vantage point)on the outskirts of town, and then a long, leisurely ride out into the countryside to the town where he was from. Once you're outside of the cities here, it's strikingly beautiful. The cities, however, are sucking the life out of me. I'm glad my time here is almost over.