Vietnam Day Thirteen: The Train, A Shave and a Fitting

The train was fun. We paid extra so we had the room to ourselves and I believe that the mattresses were a bit thicker than in the regular bunks. In other cabins you could have 4 or 6 bunks, but we thought the private room was worth the premium.

The train ride lasted 12 hours, with somewhat regular stops, but Cassidy and I put headphones in, got as comfortable as we could  (it was warm) and just tried to sleep through most of the travel. If you have the extra bucks to do it comfortably, I would highly recommend this way of getting down the country.

In the morning, we awoke to passing grasslands, farm fields, cemeteries and villages. We had made our way into the Hue, a long held seat of power and the home of the Imperial City. I was excited to check out the cultural landmarks here, and see how things felt different from Northern Vietnam.

The only people in the hotel restaurant at 11 AM. They even took our picture.

We were able to check into our hotel early, Thank you Moonlight Hotel Hue, and decided to go for a walk. We were staying a block from the famous Perfume river, and basically on the walking street – full of vendors, food, and textiles.

An Aside: Throughout our travels in Vietnam, if we were in a touristy place of any kind, you would get approached by people offering goods and services. It heavily depended on the time of day, but usually we were being ushered in to restaurants, followed by sweet old woman selling fruit or textiles, or art.

In the evening, things changed a bit – the restaurants were still at it though they tended to expand into the roadways more, there were generally less fruit vendors, but there were throngs of “massage” places with attractive women suggesting you get a probably legitimate massage.

As two men walking around at night, we were also offered cocaine, marijuana, and prostitutes, and though we were interested in none of them, I would say this was the most persistent of the no’s we had to give.

All of this is to say that we encountered a new offer in Hue, Easy Riders. A service where you can hire a driver to take you on motorcycle from Hue to Danang, about 150km (depending on the route) over the scenic Hai Van Pass, and along the beachline.  All the power to them, but I will say, they were some of the most persistent “offers” we received on the trip – even going so far as to engage us anew but minutes after we saw them the first time.

The other eventful thing that happened was we went to a barber and I got my head shaved. The sad truth is that I am in fact, vain, and that my thinning hair has been on my mind a lot lately. Since I was away, I decided to just go for it and shave it all off. It was not as significant event as I thought it might be, but I can’t say I am in love with the look. Growing old(er) is just something one has to deal with I suppose.

New threads, new head.

In the evening, Cass and I walked around the touristy area we were staying in and happened upon a tailor, Bo’s. I couldn’t resist. I got sized up and ordered a full suit, ready for the following day. Bo is a pleasant and funny woman, and though I was sweating just existing standing in the shop, she was quick and professional.

The end of the night, unfortunately, was not as exciting. Cass and I hit up the “rooftop” pool – it was on the 5^th floor I think, and just exposed to the outside, not exactly on the roof – and I couldn’t stop shivering. I thought it was just cold. Turns out, I was getting a fever. And so, the next 2 days I saw Hue through the window of our hotel room.