Hue

Pronounced hway, Hue was Vietnam's old capital. Not much going on there now, and what's worth seeing can be seen in a day. Much of it was bombed heavily during the war, and while reconstruction efforts are underway, most of what's left consists of the old palace and a pagoda up river.



Drills are still carried out inside the first wall, where the bureaucracy was located.

Inside the second wall lies the yellow zone, or royal palace.


And inside the third, or purple zone, well, that's where the emperor kept his statuary and his harem. It's good to be the king.

Up river is a pagoda/monastery that's been around since before any monks came to the new world. Visitors are kicked out at 11:00 so the monks can get down to business.






This is what gardening at Home Depot can look like if you do it right.




I try and dress for the occasion.

And then it was dawn of the lizards. They're cute. They're everywhere. Get used to it.