. There is all sorts of possibly USEFUL info there that will be repetitive if
I keep putting it in each page.Hue
NOTE: Mine & Other peoples hints & suggestions (mainly from LP Thorn tree) that
I have collated can be found either HERE
(PDF from 2002) or HERE (PDF's from 2003) Many kind
thanks to those that answered mine or others queries
. There is all sorts of possibly USEFUL info there that will be repetitive if
I keep putting it in each page.
Not a lot I can say about Hue as we only stayed there for a day and night. We caught a soft-seat express train from Hanoi overnight and arrived early in the morning feeling somewhat wired from lack of sleep.We realised we had made a boo-boo in booking the return flight to Hanoi from Hue cos for some reason I thought that Hoi An was a lot closer than the 180kms it is - so we hastily switched the flight from Danang to Hanoi. If you propose a similar itinerary then i suggest you go to Hoi An first & bus to Hue for your return flight or train.
So ... not having much time we just hired a couple of cyclos for a ride around the sights. Cyclo drivers are smart operators so some common do's & donts are:
UPDATE --- Cyclos in Hue are like couriers in the West, in that they are a common delivery vehicle as opposed to a tourist or cheap taxi. This was very evident in Hue than any other Vietnamese town visited. The passenger cyclos were the most dodgy rip-off wise in Hue. Do not let them take you to the market !!!
We went round the Citadel, the old market, the floating village and left down the side road where the island starts. There are some nice riverside cafes along this road with good vistas
UPDATE --- Another good ride is down to the beach - bear in mind it is a far way for a bicycle. This beach has a bit of a 'hustler' reputation, (which surprises me due to it's distance from Hue) and we didn't stop there as such, but there are some great sights en-route and the area is similar to Hoi An beach. Hue is a good city to hire a motorbike.
Seems the common price for the bus to Hoi An is $3US.There is the "Stop at the Sights" bus which is meant to take 6 hours & the "Express" Bus that is meant to take 3 hours. More about that later !!!
We went to a great little restaurant. You can find it here:
Hoa Vien Garden Restaurant 11 Vo Thi Sau Street (on the side of the river opposite the market/citadel) PH: 054 849300
It has a nice outdoor area and the food is excellent!!!! We particularly enjoyed the duck and prawns. Also great fresh spring rolls full of aromatic herbs.Ask to speak to Ton That Hung, a really nice guy who works there.
UPDATE -- Gone down hill dramatically with new owners .... AVOID
The Mandarin Cafe is nice as well. It is on Hung Viong St, up from the Trang Tien bridge (on the left facing towards the river), the young guy there is really helpful and knowledgeable.We got a delicious crispy bacon/salad/tomato baguette to take on the bus trip.
UPDATE -- Closed as of mid-2003
as a multi-national hotel takes over the nice grounds dammit. Apparently the
young guy has returned to his town disiilushioned so that is a sad aspect of
progress 
Coco (just
across the road) is worth patronising as the food is good, beer cold, she is
fun & they rent a motorbike for a reasonable price. Also they feed some
of the local waifs and give them drinks so your money is well used.
The local kids get a free
drink @ Cocos
We wouldnt recommend the Stop & Go cafe at all. The food was greasy and the owner seems a bit sleazy (check the photos he has displayed) ... even worse is that the prices are very expensive compared to the competition.
UPDATE -- We can recommend this restaurant as a nice sojourn with a good aspect - The Thien Dang AKA Paradise Gardens restaurant on the waterfront @ 17 Le Loi has excellent outdoor area and excellent morning glory salad & steak & chips with cold tiger beer. It is an 'open-air' venue along the river next door to the Trang Tien Bridge.
UPDATE -- This was the Hotel we stayed at ---- Binh Minh 2 @ 45 (19) Ben Nghe St tel:84 54 849007 --- really nice with brekky delivered to our rooms balcony at the appointed time. Very nice hotel, 3rd floor with street balcony for $14US per night. A lot of my overhead Hue street fotos were taken from this balcony whilst eating breakfast. They were keen to please and deserve the clientele.
We think that Hue deserves more time than we allowed and think 3 days could easily be entertained.
UPDATE -- I still think 3 days can be well spent
