Riding the train from Đà Nẵng to Huế was a really fun experience, both to travel by train and the scenery that it takes you through; adding to the experience was some of the heaviest rain I have ever seen. The 103 kilometers passed quickly with people watching and playing games on the iPad with a kid sitting next to me. As we arrive in Huế the rain is as heavy as ever. In the 2 feet from the train to the covered platform we were both completely soaked to the bone.

Rain, so much rain.

Walking out of the train station, every Taxi driver out there was trying to take full advantage of the situation, gouging every tourist coming out of the station. We opted to wait out the madness and ended up getting a much lower fare than originally offered to our hotel. Sometimes the small victories feel good in this country because it really does feel like everyone is trying to get you every time money changes hands. A word to the wise is find out ahead of time what things are supposed to cost and stick to your guns or walk away. One thing we learned while traveling Vietnam in contrast with the neighboring countries is that it is worth it to pay a bit more for your hotel room. The quality at the low end makes a very large step down, while the moderately priced hotels are a big step up. We stayed at a place called Than Thien Hotel, and the rooms were more than good enough for around $13 a night. After checking in we decided to grab some food and explore the town a little bit and found ourselves at a restaurant called Rose 2. Both of us are getting accustomed to Pho, or noodle soup for most meals, and to this day we still enjoy it.

We waded a couple of blocks in knee deep water to find a restaurant that wasn’t flooded. We enjoyed the people watching and the river the streets had turned into.

The river had over run a bridge near our hotel.

We went through a few of these bad boys watching the rain.

One of the main things to check out while you are in Huế, Vietnam is the Imperial City. The Imperial City was mostly destroyed during the Vietnam War, but what is left has been restored is certainly worth the look.

Canons

The grand entrance

Every time we saw puppies Elisabeth insisted I snap photos.

I’ve got an umbrella! I’ve got an umbrella!

After our wading session through the Imperial City we went in search of Nina’s Cafe. It can be a bit troublesome to find this little hole in the wall (literally), but the food was incredible and the prices right on point. After a great mid afternoon lunch we caught an evening flight from Hue to Hanoi. I think we would have spent a bit longer here, but the flooding had a lot of places closed, and we felt the itch to move on.