Hue (Vietnam)

Friday 30/11/2012 & Saturday 01/12/2012 - HUE (Vietnam).

From Savannakhet (Laos) to Hué (Vietnam).
Border crossing.
Hué Thanh Toan Bridge fortune teller.
Cao Dai church.

Ordered a nice breakfast baguette sandwich at Savanakhet's bus station

(melted cheese, salad, cumcumber and tomato).

At 9:15 AM, 15 minutes after departure, a first mechanical breakdown.

Opportunistic businesswoman selling roasted chicken and egg sticks.

Truck overcharged with bananas.

There are plenty of them driving towards Vietnam.

Border crossing: rush to arrive first at the Laos checkout office.

Border crossing: awaiting the exit stamp.

Local people all inserted a one doller banknote or an equivalent amount.

Laos' gate.  Behind, the nomansland.

Bas-relief, memorizing the Indochina wars,

or just playing music?

Bas-relief with Central Laos' highlighs: the That Ing Hang stupa and the Dinosaurs.

 The nomansland.

Vietnam's gate.

Sanitary inspection (body temperature), a show reserved for Europeans only.

Battle in front of Vietnam's checkin office.

Again people insert a one dollar equivalent into their passport.

Awaiting the bus, being admistratively processed as well.

Check-in and warm welcome at Phong Nha hotel in Hué.

They did remember Annelies (and me) from our visit of last year.

Dinner at Nina's caffee.  Nina greeting Annelies!

A picture of last year, at Nina's caffee.

Don't worry, meanwhile I changed clothes, from time to time.

The famous French bridge of Hué.

Crossing the bridge.

The Thanh Toan Bridge in the rice fileds, 7km out of the town center,

where I was hoping to meet Miss Diêu.

Miss Diêu (in pink) was present!

Miss Diêu was indeed present, but my meeting with her was disappointing.

Whereas last year I was alone, crossing the bridge, and she spontaneously took my hand to read past, present and future, now there were some ten people queuing.

She became famous, referred by the lonely planet guide, and it seems that also TV teams came.

Last year her readings were precise and accurate: "you have four children", "two are helping people", "one is very near to us", "watch out for...", and also "you are very handsome" (the latter repeated three times)).  This time she stayed very vague... and difficult to understand.

The Cadodaiism church of the "Eye".

The altar of the "Eye"

Celebrating "Saint Victor Hugo".

Motorbike helmets sale.

Stalinistic architecture.

Red Flags

Not secured, bamboo scaffold,

notice the "nailbed" below !

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