Now with pictures

I'm in Hue (pronounced hway), arrived this morning around 7:45am on a sleeper bus from Hanoi. The sleeper bus was different from any other overnight bus trip that I've taken so far in that the seats were more like beds than seats. Rather than just reclining a bit, my seat actually laid nearly flat which helped with the sleeping quite a bit! I don't think the driver stopped even once, so we made good time. Once here, I broke a cardinal rule of mine and went with a tout to the Ngoc Binh Hotel. I still wasn't fully awake and figured it couldn't hurt to at least look at the room. So, I'm splurging a bit and spending $9 for the night. I get my own room, hot water shower with awesome water pressure, satellite tv, and breakfast included.

I've also decided to make the best use of my time in Hue and join a tour. It's a one day tour that I've split into two parts to cover two days. This afternoon I'll do one part, I'll do the other part tomorrow morning, and then I'll take a bus to Hoi An tomorrow afternoon where I'll meet up with Marina and Rhian (they went to Hoi An straight from Hanoi last night). I know what's on the tour agenda, but I don't want to ruin the surprise. Besides, I have a couple hours until it leaves, so I figured I'd show some pictures since they are mostly uploaded now.

(A look at the hallway between the cells at Hoa Lo Prison, aka the Hanoi Hilton.)

(The picture on the left is of John McCain being treated for his injuries.)

And, on a lighter note, here's some of that amazing Halong Bay scenery.

(Mysterious looking, huh?)