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Hue: Helpful hustlers in a quiet town

River and bridge in Hue, Vietnam

We didn’t know exactly where we were going when we stepped off the train in Hue.

I did know that we should head straight into town, which was just a few minutes away, and find ourselves a place to stay. After dodging a few taxi/moto drivers, we paused to adjust our backpacks. That’s when a couple of young guys approached us with a card, encouraging us to come and check out their hotel. “No obligation,” they reiterated several times. Hardened from a month of travel, I was sceptical. Nothing is free!

But for all their exhortations to “come and have a look” at their cheap, centrally located hotel, complete with free transfer, T made the call to go along with them. Into their minivan we went, and surprisingly, it paid off.

At the Binh Duong 2, we stayed in style. For US$12, we enjoyed a huge room opening onto a private balcony with table and seats, a king bed, a bathtub, air con and ceiling fan, even crown moulding. Pretty solid.

Imperial City buildings, Hue

Imperial City arch, Hue

Imperial City red building, Hue

As for Hue itself? It was a little dull, to be honest. We decided to skip the DMZ stuff and just check out the Imperial City and a tomb (Tu Duc). There were walks along the riverside, rides over the bridge and around town, a brief beach excursion, a morning at the local shopping centre and some confusion around the parking protocol.

Temple in Hue

Bamboo name carvings - Hue
Along with a couple of local Couchsurfers (who backed up our view that the Citadel etc were somewhat underwhelming), I also got to sample amazing local coffee and fresh fruit smoothies, and wander around a bucolic temple hidden away amongst a bush setting, where we spotted a group of monks halfway through a game of soccer.

All in all, a good place to wind down and take it easy.

5 thoughts on “Hue: Helpful hustlers in a quiet town

  • Reply krantcents June 19, 2013 at 11:16

    After a while, you think everyone is hustling you! It is nice to know not every one does.

  • Reply CF June 19, 2013 at 19:01

    Beautiful photos! I am also jealous of the coffee you had – I love Vietnamese coffee.

  • Reply Morgaine June 20, 2013 at 01:27

    On a trip such as yours (trying to see as much as you can in a limited time-frame) its nice to take a day off and relax. Quietly enjoy where you are in that moment 🙂 Sounds lovely to me! Loving the $12US hotel that was nicer than many you’d get in North American for 10x that price, lucky find!

  • Reply Jennifer June 20, 2013 at 03:12

    We also stumbled over a great hotel in hue, however agree that the city itself its actually quite dull!

  • Reply Mike@WeOnlyDoThisOnce June 20, 2013 at 06:41

    Wow, I’ve had similar leads but never ones that have paid off in travel like yours did. Can’t wait to hear about your next adventures.

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