March 8th I hopped on a bus taking me southward (I'm running from the cold, rainy dreariness) to Hue. It was a supposed to be a 14 hour bus ride in a nice sleeper bus, but ended up taking almost 17 hours due to a tire explosion, and the fact that Vietnamese don't prepare for these kinds of things...
When we finally stepped of the bus (and were attacked as usual by the overwhelmingly pushy hotel and tour promoters), we were all relieved at how warm it was!!! I found a small "homestay" hostel (just a little, family run dorm room), paying $5/night, with breakfast included. (All the other hostels I went to in the area charged $7+) I settled in, did laundry, showered, and then went for a little exploration.
Hue is Vietnam's Imperial city, and home to many beautiful, old buildings and tombs (most of them inaccessible by foot from the city center). First I walked to Citadella, the well preserved ancient city, still surrounded by a wall a moat, but only admired it from outside, because I had been told it wasn't worth the $5 entrance fee (very expensive for SE Asia). I then wandered through the back streets and alleys (which I prefer to the "main path"), watching the locals in their environment, playing cards, laughing, scolding their children, cooking together - things you only see if you take a few steps off the beaten path.
I soon reached the market (pictures to come...). This market though was very different from other ones I had been to. It wasn't all fixed up and glorified for the tourist's eye, with jacked up prices, but built and kept simply to serve the town's people as best as possible. It was cramped together and noisy and disorganized with little - if any - attention put toward cleanliness; everyone just pushing their way through - carrying huuuge rice bags and boxes of random medicines and oils one could only guess what they were - in order to get where they need to. People say that Vietnam, and the all of Asia is hectic and disorganized and dangerous, but once you immerse yourself a bit and partake, you can see it from a different perspective and can realize that there is "a method to the madness".
For the past few days, I haven't felt particularly motivated to do anything. Just sitting in bed, maybe reading, and eating food has satisfied me...but I don't like that! So, after my trip to the market, I went back in the direction of the river that runs through the city, where there's a small park, laid down my beach cloth on the grass, and did some inversion yoga!!!!
In the evening, and then the next day as well, I hung out with some people from my hostel, as well as some people staying at a different hostel who I had met and spent time with back in Hanoi.somebody mentioned something about a Vipassana meditation course, which instantly struck some interest in me, so I'm trying to find one within the near future!!! [I'm very enthusiastic about and excited for that!] oh, and then yesterday,the owner of the hostel I was in showed me the motorbike he's selling. It was set at a great price, in good condition, and after a test drive really tempted me... But after some careful consideration and self-reminders that safety comes first, and. Short but helpful Skype call with my wise grandparents and my father who always knows best, I resisted the urge and itch for (potentially risky) adventure, and declined the offer.
During my short Skype session with my grandparents, my grandfather said something that I hope I can live by, and I think we all could benefit from. It was something along the lines of, "no matter where you as and what you do, the experience comes from within you". I think I really butchered that [sorry Grand-O], but the gist was that we can all make what we want of a situation, and that what goes on inside us is what's truly important.
It was a relaxed but good couple of days spent in good company!
~Iolani
Posted via Blogaway
No comments:
Post a Comment