Hue, Vietnam

Well the shopping didn't end in Hoi An! We got into Hue in the evening after a short 5 hour bus ride. We checked into our hostel and went out for a Vietnamese dinner. The food here is delicious. There specialities are noodle soups including pho, Bon cha, Bon Bo and many others. While we were at dinner we kept staring down the shop across the street. With everything so cheap and made to fit you we just couldn't help ourselves and we ended up shopping after dinner. I got 2 pair of pants and a dress. I literally probably couldn't fit a pencil in my pack right now it's so full. The next morning we had to be up at 5:30am to head out for our DMZ trip. On this trip we visited the former border of Vietnam separating North and South, one of the battlefields where a lot of the fighting took place, more tunnels that Vietnamese soldiers lived in and a cemetery of fallen soldiers. At the battlefield it was an eerie feeling walking on the ground that a major war occurred. It also disgusted me that there were men there selling medals and such from fallen soldiers that they have found over time. Our tour guide gave us many facts about the places we visited and the war but her English was a little difficult to understand so don't ask me for details. This tour was 12 hours in total most of it spent on a bus. When I flew to Seoul for the first time I remember thinking a 12 hour flight felt like an eternity but after this trip and the countless 12-16 hour bus rides I feel like the flight home will fly by! Anyways, back to Hue. The next morning we just hung out at our hostel for awhile. Our hostel had a great lobby where there was always a good deal of backpackers hanging around which allows you to meet a lot of people. Later in the afternoon we rented bicycles and rode to the Citadel. This was the housing for royalty and many religious buildings. It was destroyed during the war but they have been working to rebuild it. It's sad to go to all these major places and hear about what all the war destroyed . After riding and walking for a few hours it was time to go back and shower to get ready for our 15 hour train ride. Lychelle was taking the bus so she had to leave earlier than us but Molly and I just couldn't do another sleeper bus so we opted for the sleeper train. After Lychelle left Molly wanted to go for one last quick bike ride as the city was very beautiful. I stayed bak for a shower. After her being gone for 45 minutes I started getting worried as we were supposed to be leaving in 20 min. She finally shows up and has both of her hands scrapped up and her knee as well. She was riding by the river and a motorbike cut her off which caused her to fall. A sweet Vietnamese family doctored her up before she headed home. Luckily she was ok and we could continue onto the train station. When we arrived at the train station we wanted to eat our sandwiches before we boarded the train so we sat on a bench just minding our own business eating. All the sudden this guy walks up to us and sets his infant on Molly's lap. She has a sandwich in one hand and tries to refuse but this family does not speak English and they just want some humor and photo opps. I guess. They then would not take the child back from her even with her trying to hand him to them. There was a huge crowd around us all taking pictures and after 15 minutes Molly was finally able to give the child back. It was so strange but also hilarious. Our train then arrived so it was time to board and head for Hanoi. We were told the sleeper trains were like riding in luxury so we were excited to get a nice night sleep and wake up in our next city. Well we walked into our cabin which had two sets of bunk beds. There were two guys above us. The beds werent the most comfortable but this was soon to be the least of our worries. We played some cards and then decided to do some reading before bed. We then saw a bug on the floor. This was the start of our issues. In total we killed 20 bugs in our small cabin. I then went to the bathroom which had standing water on the floor which sloshed with each jerk of the train. As we were trying to go to sleep to make it go by faster the staff of the train keep peekig in our cabins looking for he guys in our cabin who had been one for a good hour. One finally comes back in and the staff comes in less than a min later yelling at him. Of course we have no clue what they are saying or what happened but hen he was escorted out and the other guy never showed back up. Our "luxurious" train ride turned into a nightmare from the second we arrived at the train station and we were very anxious to get to Hanoi (mostly just to get off the train). We will only be spending one night in Hanoi before we head to Halong Bay on a 3 day 2 night cruise. I don't know about the wifi situation in Halong Bay so I will try my best to update but I can't make any promises.