Sophistivacation

We met our guide at 9.30am in the lobby of our hotel; its a bit of a ghost hotel as we have hardly seen anyone since we arrived. We did have a very tasty breakfast and there was another 3 or 4 tables occupied but the amount of food on offer would have fed an army! It was 27 degrees outside so we were pleased to see Sala only had a jumper on today; we had shorts and t-shirts! Our first stop was Khai Dinh Tomb which was built for the twelfth emperor of the Nguyen dynasty. It is a mixture of western and eastern architecture and looks out onto the mountains on the outskirts of the city. It was very beautiful and peaceful, compared to the inner city. Our next stop was Tu Duc Tomb, this was built for the Nguyen Emporer Tu Duc as a temple during his life and a tomb on death. Although, he had over 100 wives, he was unable to father a son as he had mumps and was impotent. He wrote his own epitaph and planned his tomb long before his death. The temple and surrounding area was very beautiful and ...

We got up late and had a leisurely breakfast; I decided to have a hot stone massage before the long drive to Hue. I had to choose a base oil and another which would be more therapeutic, the pressure and areas to concentrate on; I chose olive oil for moisturising and something unpronounceable for tension and pain. My masseuse was called Sue and she was tiny, but incredibly strong. To say it was enjoyable would be lying, it was incredibly painful but hearing the number of cracks coming from my back, I’m sure it was good for me! After the massage, I quickly packed my suitcase and we got ready to leave our luxurious hotel; I was devastated, although our next hotel was 5 star and called “Indochine Palace” so I’m thinking it can’t be all that bad! Sala and Mr Long picked us up at noon; we had a two and a half hour drive to Hue, pronounced “whey”. It was a beautiful 24 degrees, Sala had a jumper and a coat on as she was cold! Our first stop was the Museum of Cham Sculpture in Da Nang, where w...

We decided to walk back into the old town given it was only 15 minutes or so; it started to rain a little as we were walking. We planned to go to Morning Glory, another restaurant recommended by our guide. Hoi An is an extraordinary place at night; the lights and atmosphere make it almost magical. We made it to the restaurant just before the downpour; relief, as I had flip flops on! Morning Glory is a restaurant which serves Vietnamese street food; we chose crispy pancake with pork, Cau Lâu (noodle and pork dish), coconut prawns, ginger chicken, beef skewers in rice paper to go with our beer! The restaurant is named after the most commonly eaten vegetable in Vietnam and is also a cooking school; the food is delicious! After dinner, we wandered about the shopping streets before finding a bar to have a drink; we had a couple of cocktails then set off to pick up Iain’s new jacket! Unbelievable, a new leather jacket, made to measure, in 6 hours; he was thrilled! We decided to go visit the ...