Hot, humid . . . and raining

Saturday, Nov. 8 -- The heat and particularly the humidity have finally hit. And it's still raining intermittently, which has forced some changes of plan. After that all-night train ride in little cabins sort of like cells in San Quentin, we arrived yesterday in Hue, probably most famous for its almost complete destruction during the Vietnam War. To be exact, the U.S. engaged in 52,845 flights, each plane loaded with multiple bombs, it defoliated 20,000 square hectares (nearly 50,000 square acres) of rice fields and killed 11,350 domestic beasts. Unsure how many people were killed. The entire area was virtually wiped off the earth. Now, however, it's staging a comeback with a fairly large effort to refoliate and green the place. All the growth, and it is extensive due to the tropical climate, has occurred within the last 30 years. The landscape remains covered in places with white sand that the locals believe is full of chemicals from the bombs.

After checking in to the Green Hotel which is, guess what? kelly green, we took a 45-minute cruise on a boat the looks like a dragon down the inaptly named Perfume River. Actually, the name once was appropriate as ginger plants grew wild on both sides, but they're long gone and the river doesn't smell so hot. We visited the Thien Mu Pagoda, founded in 1601, and the tomb of Minh Mang, where an emperor of that name is buried. I think. I'll summarize simply by saying the day was all about emperors, their concubines, eunuchs, dragons, serpents and unicorns. Lots of red lacquer and gold leaf, young monks banging gongs, enormous statues of elephants and other beasts and requirements that visitors remove their shoes in the holiest sites. The ruins are being rebuilt by the Vietnamese government and American Express as World Heritage sites.

Today we visited the Citadel, the enormous imperial city of the Nguyen emperors. More of same.

We boarded our trusty bus for the three-hour ride to Hoi An, but our planned stop at the top of Marble Mountain was aborted by fog thicker than that on the GG Bridge and the planned visit to China Beach was considerably shortened due to high winds. It's quite a beautiful beach, however, stretching for miles of white sand along the China Sea. Instead we visited a Hindu museum and Cao Dai Temple, which has an eye about 12 feet high and wide behind the altar. Big brother is really watching in that place.

Our guide Sonja is a font of knowledge about everything southeast Asian, whether culture, art, religion (there are multiple Dalai Lamas, it turns out), food, history, textiles. Because there are so many water buffaloes along the road, several of them with children standing on their backs waving to us, we learned a lot about them. They're used to plow the fields and rice paddies, but are extremely docile and loved as pets. In fact, people compliment one another by saying, "She is my best buffalo."

We've now checked in to the Hoi An Hotel and went directly to the tailor for tuxes, suits, jackets, shirts etc. Everything will be ready tomorrow, after cooking class.