Third stop on my trip to Vietnam: Hue, a city located in the east of the country above Hoi An, which I will reach by train. The journey is quite surprising, especially because it is announced three hours of journey, and after only two hours a third of the route has been completed.

It must be said that this first part is on the mountainside, on one side the train overlooks the sea, on the other side it is a very steep mountain covered with jungle. The train runs very slowly on this first part. I imagine it is simply because it is possible that the voice is cut off, especially during this period of heavy monsoon rain, by mudslides or trees from the mountain.

The three-hour journey time will finally be held since once back in the plain the train accelerates considerably and completes the last two-thirds of the journey in one hour.

Arriving in Hué under a pouring rain, I walk 1 km to reach the hotel, one of these mini hotels as there are several in the city, a high building with two rooms per level. First disappointment upon arrival:

While there are free rooms on the first two floors, I am given the farthest room at the top of the fourth floor. Vietnamese who arrive at the hotel after me in the afternoon will be assigned the rooms of the second.

Second disappointment but it may be related to the distance from the room the wi-fi does not work in the room.

I go back down indicating that it will not be possible not to have wifi, I need it to work. The very friendly girl at the reception transmits to a young man who is wallowing in an armchair playing video games on his cell phone and who barely raises his head.

I go out to eat and in the first restaurant I eat extremely badly: a completely pheasant chicken that I don’t touch, I only eat rice which is not terrible. It starts rather badly in this city.

Fortunately I then walk in very nice places by the perfume river and looking for a place to eat, I go to an address found remotely by my friend and I meet Li, who runs a restaurant where you eat very well and who speaks extremely good English.

I explain to her my setbacks with the hotel, she offers me a room in the hotel opposite which is obviously held by someone from her family. So I end up returning to my hotel to cancel my reservation, give them compensation and I move for two days to the hotel which is opposite what will be my favourite canteen. In Li’s restaurant, all the dishes are good and the breakfast is plentiful. Even the coffee is rather drinkable which is exceptional in Vietnam.

I spend two days in Hué, under an almost permanent pouring rain which does not prevent me from enjoying the walk along the river of perfumes which fortunately has a nice name because the water is really disgusting. I am very interested in the city’s universities which are really places that make you want to study: beautiful buildings, large parks.

This first day I will spend at least two hours in the citadel which is a really gigantic site.

It is a very amazing place with buildings that are "only" two centuries old but look much older.

On the second day I will walk to the pagoda a good 10 km round trip always in the rain. This will allow me some interesting photographic encounters, especially by the river.

Departure from Hué to Ninh Bình by the night train in which I will not be able to sleep much, rocked by the infernal noise of the train and the even more infernal noise of my neighbor’s snoring.

Hué, a rather endearing city, but not necessarily a place I would like to return to, especially since I was the victim of a banal and very stupid act on the part of a Vietnamese.

Once again (I’m sorry) I don’t think we can witness this kind of stupid act in Thailand: I was on the phone when it started to rain extremely hard; so I took shelter at the entrance of a large appliance store, I sat on the wall next to the entrance of the store, a place where obviously I didn’t bother many people. The guard in charge of scooter safety (there is one in front of each department store) started looking at me askance. After a while finding that I had probably occupied his space for too long, he had a bright idea went to the very large speakers that were next to me and which are used to broadcast the store’s advertising, and with a triumphant smile he turned up the sound to the maximum. Obviously no way to call I went a little further. It’s very smart.