Hue

just a brief note now, and hopefully deeper thoughts tomorrow. have to hurry and change for mandatory Group Cocktails.

 

the road from hoi an through da nang and most of the way to Hue (hway) was very interesting. don't remember if i mentioned this in an earlier entry, but over 75% of viet nam's population is under 29. on top of that, there is a LOT of growth- we saw an enormous high-end resort with both hotels and residences under construction along a neglected beautiful beach outside of da nang. the waves were perfect for surfing, and not a soul out there. da nang in general is growing like gangbusters- viet nam is going through some huge changes!

 

more riding in sodden clothes through non-stop mist and mud. truly, i think we'd get the same reactions from the locals if we were all santa-claus-lookalikes in drag with beehive hairdos. if you ride towards the end of the line, people have already gathered outside their homes to gawk at the first, and they're positively celebratory when you roll by. huge, toothy smiles from all around, and they're thrilled when you say hello back! the only people who don't smile and wave are men over 50, and only a small percentage of them. a couple kids so far have yelled to me "hello! what your name!" and i responded "barack obama!" and both times they gasped then laughed and squealed.

 

we toured the forbidden city of the imperial city this afternoon. took many pictures. hue used to be the capital of viet nam. we saw pictures of the boy emperor circa 1925- a feat since no one was supposed to be allowed to look at his face! back then, the crime was beheading. today, it costs a several thousand dong (a few dollars) to walk around the secret city like you own the place.

 

dad's been here before. very cool and kind of strange to know, considering our wildly different circumstances. shoot, gotta go! thanks for the fun notes and emails!