Night train to Hue

Day 35 + 36

The start of our fifth week in SE Asia and were getting another 12 hour night train! We got our tickets in the morning and then some supplies for the trip. We had our tea at the local noodle shack and packed our bags and checked out the hotel. After the sweaty walk back to the station we were boarding the train in no time. We had a shared cabin with two locals who we swapped Oreos for oranges and weird green fruits that looked like limes but tasted like s***. After 5 minutes gem was asleep and I was not long after! Before we knew it twelve hours had passed and we were pulling up in Hue (pronounced Who-Ay). After being harassed by an endless amount of taxi,tuk tuk,motorbike,cyclo drivers we were on our way to find a hotel. A walk later we had found our top notch room and had rented motorbike to see the local sights. Any insurance? I asked and the guy didn't seem to understand the word. Oh well on we went through the maddest 7-way crossroads with no traffic lights you had ever seen to the Citadel. We never entered only done a lap of the place to see the ground which were pretty good anyway! Next was the tomb of Emporer Tu Duc. He apparently built the tomb and beheaded the 100 men who built it so no one would know where his body and treasure laid. People are still unsure whether his body lays in the tomb. After sweating out about a stone we got completely lost on the motorbike and eventually come across what we were looking for - the colosseum they used for fighting lions and elephants. They cruelly removed the teeth and claws of the lions so the elephant always won (to preserve there national animals respect). We then found our way back to the hotel to get washed and dressed again! We headed to the train station to get tickets for the early train to Danang where we would be staying tomorrow night. Back to the room to read the bible (Lonely Planet - Vietnam) and off we headed for tea in a Indian restaurant were we asked for our dish to be hot as the waitress laughed....dunno why coz it wasn't hot at all! Scoffed the food went the shop for water and back the hotel to take the scooter back. Packing our stuff away tonight so an early one is on the cards. Nighty night!