Ho Thuy Tien is Hue’s well-renowned abandoned waterpark. It’s fame comes in the growing number of tourists who head there as an alternative sightseeing location. The abandoned waterpark’s urban decay is a landscape perfect for a post-apocalyptic movies. Continue reading “Ho Thuy Tien: Hue’s Decaying Abandoned Waterpark”→
The unmissable biennial event will take place between Friday 27th April to Wednesday 2nd May. The Hue Festival includes cultural and contemporary performances from both Vietnam and around the world.
Hue is famous for being the pinnacle of ‘traditional’ Vietnamese food. Com hen, bánh khoai, Bún bò Huế and bún bò Huế are among some of the city’s most famous dishes. Hue cuisine is so popular that restaurants specializing in the regional delicacies are often high in demand. Mon Hue, a big-city chain restaurant, has found success with their fast-food approach to Hue food. However, as most Vietnamese people will tell you, the best-tasting Hue food is only found in Hue. If that maxim rings true, then surely the best foods come from their origin.
2017 oversaw local establishments take inspiration from contemporary designers on the world’s stage. This is evident with the new entertainment complex Cask and nightclub Factory 075 in the Pham Ngu Lao area. Business owners know that eye-catching architecture and photogenic products are key to success in the social media age. Millennial Hue want to be competing with their peers in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. They have the artistic integrity and the city is giving them the space to produce it. Continue reading “OO Cafe: Contemporary Art Cafe Hue”→
Vegetarians and vegans travelling Vietnam may be surprised that the country has a plethora of restaurants to suit all meat-free diets.Twice a month, the population will go to their local meat-free restaurant to gorge on vegetables and tofu. Restaurants on the ‘pancake trail’ serve some really shitty meat-free dishes, fact. After living in Ho Chi Minh City and Danang, Hue has provided me with the variety I desire and a few surprises too. I’m not sure why there are so many vegetarian restaurants in Hue, maybe something to do with the city’s age-old culture and affluence from both the upper and middle classes. A large percentage of street-side restaurants also turn veg every month on the 1st and 15th of the lunar calendar. Look for signs including ‘chay’ (with absolutely no accents on the word) on these days to get a budget fill.
Despite his clean-living lifestyle, Buddha has been unable to hit the gym for some cardio since being trapped behind a barricade of potted plants.
My friend Mitch came to visit me in Central Vietnam recently. We spent three days between Danang, Hoi An and Hue, which I wrote about here.
On our way to Hue, we stopped at Phu Bai town for a nuoc mia (sugarcane juice) and a cigarette. We chose a nuoc mia cart perched besides a crossroads and watched the Highway 1 traffic roar past. It’s very easy to people-watch on street corners and delve into existential thought. The high-level of traffic can keep you entertained for hours.
After some time working in Australia, my childhood friend Mitch dropped by Vietnam for a reunion. It had been almost five years since we last met and we had some catching up to do. I was also determined to show him what three days in central Vietnam had to offer. Continue reading “Three Days Travel in Central Vietnam: Danang, Hoi An and Hue”→
The best time to see urban Vietnam is through the break of dawn. A friend and I recently agreed on this and shared hot-tips on where in the Hue Citadel we like to watch the city awaken. We aren’t the only people to think this. Small cafes are often full of customers before most foreigners are even awake. They sit facing the roads, drinking coffee to the crescendo of traffic that roars by. Everything is in transit and dawn provides optimism to the day’s grind. Continue reading “Video: the Awakening of the Hue Citadel”→