Hue

Bunkers built during French occupation, also used by US

We have two days in Hue, which is about a 4 hour drive north from Hoi An.  On the way here, our group made a stop at the Hai Van pass, a strategic military location high in the hills with spectacular views in all directions.  We had time to climb around on the various bunkers and take in the scenery before pressing on toward Hue. 

This morning our group split up, with most of us opting for a bus tour of Hue, a few (including Jeff) courageously opting for the motorcycle tour (which followed the same basic route as the bus, with forays into rice paddies and tiny alleyways), and a few choosing to explore on their own.  We had stops at a scenic overlook from which we could view miles of river winding through the countryside, a covered bridge where we found a large group of people playing a BINGO like game with great enthusiasm, an interpretive center where we were given a demonstration of how rice is separated from the chaff, milled and ground into fine rice flour, and a little shop where we could try our hand at rolling our own sticks of incense, a process much harder than it looks. 


In the evening, a group of us set out to find an authentic Vietnamese dining experience, and happened upon a restaurant run by a deaf-mute (the owner’s description of himself) and his family, all of whom are deaf except for one sister.  Mr. Lac, the owner, told us the story of his family using charts and pictures and a lot of charades.  He also entertained us by opening up beer bottle after beer bottle with his special home-made bottle opener – essentially a little stick with a screw head sticking out one end, that gets jammed under the bottle cap which is flung off upon striking the opposite end of the stick with a sharp rap. 

The trick is to karate chop the striking end AND catch the stick in your hand rather than letting the bottle opener and cap fly all over the room.  He gave us each our own bottle opener to take as a souvenir, then showed us photo albums full of pictures he’s gotten from patrons opening beers with a Lac Thien opener at the Eiffel Tower, Taj Mahal, Big Ben, Machu Pichu and elsewhere.  One couple even sent him a poster of themselves opening a beer on the moon. We had a grand time visiting with him, watching him open bottles and eating his delicious food. If you ever find yourself in Hue, you owe it to yourself to seek out Lac Thien restaurant.  You will be glad you did.