City Tour of Hue

Oh man - it was a crazy day today! Last night, I booked a city tour in Hue since it was $8 and I would be able to see many of the historical sights on my list for Hue. I must say that having the tour bus drive me all around town was very convenient, especially since it was raining cats and dogs (again!) all throughout the day!

But man...am I exhausted! Breakfast at 7:30am at the hotel (included in my stay) - I met a very nice gentleman from England who now lives in Melbourne...but has been traveling since August (until the end of December). Craziness, huh? Most of the people that I've met today have been traveling or will be traveling for several months at a time. The longest duration that I've heard so far is 6 months! (A university student from Quebec, Canada on sabbatical before continuing with her university studies. She's traveling alone as well.)

Then we saw 3 tombs, the Citadel, attempted to see some gardens (but the road was flooded), had lunch and visited a monastery (called pagodas here). I have some cool pics, which I will post later and am definitely feeling like I've hit the major sights here. Tomorrow I'm just going to walk around town and take in the feel for Hue before heading on the bus to Danang. I'll catch a flight on Thursday morning to Hanoi from Danang.

My favorite experience of the day was the last one, at the pagoda. We arrived at 4pm - just in time for the evening prayers and it was a really special experience despite all the crazy tourists gawking at the real monks. =) Apparently, it takes 10 years for someone to become a monk. For the first three years, the individual will have bangs at the front of their head, while the rest of their head is shaved. They are called "little monks". For years 4-10 (seven years) - they are called medium monks. Once they've been studying for 10 years, they are then officially monks - differentiated by a square in the front of their garb.

Listening to the group of mostly young monks sing their evening prayers seemed very joyful and full of grace. I was really hesitant to disturb their worship, so hung back at a respectful distance from the temple. Other tourists had no problem with being obnoxious, and one of the australians from my tour group said, "I really should be having more charitable thoughts right now!" about the rudeness of the other visitors.

Despite all of that though - I really felt that I was a part of a joyful experience and I took that with me as I left the pagoda and returned to the hotel. The singing was so full of light and the young voices seem so joyful, it made me smile as I walked away.

I think that I'm settling into a travel routine - at least one day tour in each big city to see the major sights, some walking tours on my own to get the flavor of the city...and then an early dinner before heading to bed for a restful night and an early morning!

Tomorrow, I will walk about the neighborhood in Hue before checking out of the hotel and hopping on the afternoon bus to Danang. I fly out of Danang to Hanoi on Thursday morning. Hanoi should be dry - colder, but no rain! Then it's off to hopefully sunny Thailand and Ko Samed at the end of the month. =p