Day 298 - Hue - Boat Tour - Thien Mu Pagoda - Royal Citadel
May 1st, 2019.
Today we went to the 11th-floor restaurant for breakfast and surprise, it was packed with Vietnamese. It was crowded and loud. They sat us in a corner of the room and then went to help ourselves to the buffet. It was a wonderful buffet with all sort of choices. We were all thrilled! After breakfast, we went to the reception to ask how much would a boat ride cost to the pagoda and other places. The receptionist wanted to get us an expensive, private tour. She was surprised when we told her that we liked to be with all the people but she couldn't arrange that. We decided to walk to the shore and negotiate by ourselves.
When we got to the shore, two ladies started to offer us all the tours. They were expensive but they explained that it was a 3-hour boat ride. We really didn't want such a long tour. We pointed to them that we only wanted to see the pagoda and the citadel. They gave us one price and we said no. They reduced the price and we said no and walked away. Finally, Gregory, who is a pretty good negotiator, gave his price and they accepted! We got the boat ride for 200K VND (about $8).
The boat ride was pleasant but noisy. We could the rattle of the diesel engine consistently. Gregory and I sat on the front of the boat. The lady uncovered her "shop" and tried to sell her items. After a while, we made it to the Thien Mu Pagoda. It was built by a local lord in 1601 to fulfill a prophecy.
The pagoda was beautiful but more beautiful were the gardens and the trees that we saw there. We saw plumerias, another beautiful and different tree with flowers, a pond with koi. We only spent half an hour there because our boat was waiting for us. Did I mention that we were the only ones on the boat? In the end we ended up with a private boat. The captain and wife tried to get more people in another stop but they didn't succeed!
We got on the boat and then we headed to the citadel. I'm not sure if they dropped us in the right spot. We got our feet muddy somehow but hey, we got a good price. We bought some things from her store, even if it was expensive, just to help her. Later that day, I found out that she really overcharged me -- oh well!
Outside the citadel, we met a very nice couple, Sara and Jeremy. She was Spanish and he was French. We chatted for a while and invited them to California. They want to travel Route 101. We only met them because they asked us to take their picture outside. They recommended that we pay to go in but we were not sure. In the end, I'm glad Gregory got the tickets because the citadel was just beautiful. The architecture is not all original because a lot had been destroyed during the many wars but the reconstruction gave you a great idea of how impressive the royal citadel was. It was a whole forbidden city, 6km x 6km square. I told the kids that I could live in a palace with those beautiful, majestic gardens. It was so big that we decided to eat some lunch then continue seeing the place. Of course, the kiddos were ready to go but we stayed until 4:00pm.
At the end, we stopped in the gift shop because Gregory was in the shopping mood, which is very rare. He kept giving items to the lady who was helping us. Here I found the bags for half the price of what I paid in the boat. Gregory said, I knew she was ripping us off but I guess it made up for what we saved on the boat ride. Daniel was complaining all the time that he just wanted to stay in the hotel.
We finally left the citadel and walked to a museum where we could catch Grab. On our way out, many taxi drivers and rickshaws approached us trying to sell us a ride. This was the first time that we felt assaulted by the drivers! We had to wait for a while to get a car. Gregory got upset because I did not agree to get Grab motorcycles which are always available, fast, and less than half the price of a car. Gregory really wants us to get two motorcycles and I'm just afraid that it will happen all over Asia where motorcycles are easily available more than grab and taxis are expensive. Sigh! [Gregory's note: I think she means that I will want to ride motorbikes, which are everywhere, fast, and cheap while she prefers to wait 10-15 minutes so she can take one of the very few cars that get stuck in traffic and can't navigate the narrow alleys so have to take the long way and are constantly getting cut off by motorbikes.]
Anyway, we finally made it to our hotel. We rested until it was time for dinner. The kids didn't want to go out at all. Thank God for Internet and Gregorio who ordered a pizza to be delivered to the hotel. He and I went looking for pho ga - chicken noodle soup for my throat. We found a local place near our hotel and had a bowl of delicious noodle soup. The chili cleared my throat and nose. Afterward, we walked to a busy street with cafes and bars. We sat to have a beer (only him). I regretted this because the music was super loud and the dude behind me was smoking. I had to remind Gregory that he is no longer in his twenties but he only replied, "speak for yourself."
Afterward, we walked some more, stopped at a travel agency to see if we would take a tour tomorrow, and then rushed back home because I was not feeling well. Again, my throat hurts bad but in general, it was a great day!
For pictures please click here
https://photos.app.goo.gl/Q9AQ1ZV4csSTKvSG8
Today we went to the 11th-floor restaurant for breakfast and surprise, it was packed with Vietnamese. It was crowded and loud. They sat us in a corner of the room and then went to help ourselves to the buffet. It was a wonderful buffet with all sort of choices. We were all thrilled! After breakfast, we went to the reception to ask how much would a boat ride cost to the pagoda and other places. The receptionist wanted to get us an expensive, private tour. She was surprised when we told her that we liked to be with all the people but she couldn't arrange that. We decided to walk to the shore and negotiate by ourselves.
When we got to the shore, two ladies started to offer us all the tours. They were expensive but they explained that it was a 3-hour boat ride. We really didn't want such a long tour. We pointed to them that we only wanted to see the pagoda and the citadel. They gave us one price and we said no. They reduced the price and we said no and walked away. Finally, Gregory, who is a pretty good negotiator, gave his price and they accepted! We got the boat ride for 200K VND (about $8).
The boat ride was pleasant but noisy. We could the rattle of the diesel engine consistently. Gregory and I sat on the front of the boat. The lady uncovered her "shop" and tried to sell her items. After a while, we made it to the Thien Mu Pagoda. It was built by a local lord in 1601 to fulfill a prophecy.
The pagoda was beautiful but more beautiful were the gardens and the trees that we saw there. We saw plumerias, another beautiful and different tree with flowers, a pond with koi. We only spent half an hour there because our boat was waiting for us. Did I mention that we were the only ones on the boat? In the end we ended up with a private boat. The captain and wife tried to get more people in another stop but they didn't succeed!
We got on the boat and then we headed to the citadel. I'm not sure if they dropped us in the right spot. We got our feet muddy somehow but hey, we got a good price. We bought some things from her store, even if it was expensive, just to help her. Later that day, I found out that she really overcharged me -- oh well!
Outside the citadel, we met a very nice couple, Sara and Jeremy. She was Spanish and he was French. We chatted for a while and invited them to California. They want to travel Route 101. We only met them because they asked us to take their picture outside. They recommended that we pay to go in but we were not sure. In the end, I'm glad Gregory got the tickets because the citadel was just beautiful. The architecture is not all original because a lot had been destroyed during the many wars but the reconstruction gave you a great idea of how impressive the royal citadel was. It was a whole forbidden city, 6km x 6km square. I told the kids that I could live in a palace with those beautiful, majestic gardens. It was so big that we decided to eat some lunch then continue seeing the place. Of course, the kiddos were ready to go but we stayed until 4:00pm.
At the end, we stopped in the gift shop because Gregory was in the shopping mood, which is very rare. He kept giving items to the lady who was helping us. Here I found the bags for half the price of what I paid in the boat. Gregory said, I knew she was ripping us off but I guess it made up for what we saved on the boat ride. Daniel was complaining all the time that he just wanted to stay in the hotel.
We finally left the citadel and walked to a museum where we could catch Grab. On our way out, many taxi drivers and rickshaws approached us trying to sell us a ride. This was the first time that we felt assaulted by the drivers! We had to wait for a while to get a car. Gregory got upset because I did not agree to get Grab motorcycles which are always available, fast, and less than half the price of a car. Gregory really wants us to get two motorcycles and I'm just afraid that it will happen all over Asia where motorcycles are easily available more than grab and taxis are expensive. Sigh! [Gregory's note: I think she means that I will want to ride motorbikes, which are everywhere, fast, and cheap while she prefers to wait 10-15 minutes so she can take one of the very few cars that get stuck in traffic and can't navigate the narrow alleys so have to take the long way and are constantly getting cut off by motorbikes.]
Anyway, we finally made it to our hotel. We rested until it was time for dinner. The kids didn't want to go out at all. Thank God for Internet and Gregorio who ordered a pizza to be delivered to the hotel. He and I went looking for pho ga - chicken noodle soup for my throat. We found a local place near our hotel and had a bowl of delicious noodle soup. The chili cleared my throat and nose. Afterward, we walked to a busy street with cafes and bars. We sat to have a beer (only him). I regretted this because the music was super loud and the dude behind me was smoking. I had to remind Gregory that he is no longer in his twenties but he only replied, "speak for yourself."
Afterward, we walked some more, stopped at a travel agency to see if we would take a tour tomorrow, and then rushed back home because I was not feeling well. Again, my throat hurts bad but in general, it was a great day!
For pictures please click here
https://photos.app.goo.gl/Q9AQ1ZV4csSTKvSG8
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