Riding bikes

It used to be one of my favorite activities when I was little. Really, what's not to love? I wanted to love biking in San Francisco, but living on top of Nob Hill actively discouraged me from re-developing my cycling habit.

Biking in Hue, however, is fabulous.

When I last left off (after my 3 posts in a row. I still can't properly see my blog so am trying to remember what I've said and not said already!) I was in Nha Trang and had 1 day left. I planned to go to Hoi An next, but rerouted so that I could be there at the same time as Sam. So I took the overnight bus to Hue instead (a few hrs north of Hoi An) and will make my way to Hoi An tomorrow to meet Sam. Anyway, so I'm in Hue.

I rented a bike this morning, basket and all, for about 70 cents for the day. Let me start by saying that Hue is beautiful. It lies on both banks of the Perfume River and is very green, cultural, and sane. There are parks lining the riverbanks and trees everywhere. A few kilometers outside the city are renowned temples and pagodas (like everywhere else) that I wanted to visit. The sights themselves were cool - especially since they were not at all crowded. However, I really enjoyed seeing the countryside. There are a lot of cows here, just wandering about. I'm not really sure what their deal is. I "discovered" this huge cemetary on a back road and wanted to wander through but was scared off by cows that were territorially mooing at me as I took photos from the entrance.

The other main sight in the city is the Citadel. It's a huge (like 4k by 4k) walled in section of the city. Within it is the Imperial Enclosure. As you might imagine there are temples and palaces within the enclosure. I spent the afternoon yesterday just wandering around there. Again, it was really quiet and made me feel like I was discovering something new.

Despite the seeming lack of tourists around, I did make some friends! On the bus here I sat next to an older Aussie guy traveling with his wife and 2 other couples. I ran into them as I was walking back to my guesthouse last night and they invited me to eat with them. They were great fun to chat with and humored me by listening to me talk for awhile since I hadn't really chatted with anyone in a day or so. Suddenly all sorts of interesting (well I hope it was interesting at least) things came pouring out! I had a flaming banana for dessert. Delish!

Going back a few days....

On my last day in Nha Trang, after Sam arrived, we hung out on the beach for a few hours (I was in the shade - too much sun the day before) and then went to a mud bath. It was one of the more outrageous things I'd ever experienced. The place was famous for its mud (or so they say) but the way it was set up felt like a combo between a water park and mini golf course. Sam has some hilarious pictures of us frolicking in the mud that I need to get my hands on. For skin health and entertainment value I give it a solid A. I'm a bit concerned that I'll never get all the mud out of my bathing suit, though. After 3 determined soakings, the water's still brown :(

If you made it this far, you are rewarded with the news of more photos! I finished the Cambodia shots (sorry there are SO many, but I loved it) and have uploaded and captioned both Saigon and Nha Trang. Enjoy! http://picasaweb.google.com/stephaniepwilson/