With intuition as tool, we roamed the evening roads of Hue, looking for its crown jewel, the Imperial Citadel—the country’s former seat of power before modern Vietnam. And finally after an hour or so of dodging motorcycles, with cameras aimed, we came face to face with what we came to this old city for.

TAKING THE BUS FROM HOI AN TO HUE

Coming from the ancient town of Hoi An, it took a three-hour bus ride before we arrived on our third stop for the Vietnam leg of our Same Same Summer Trip, Hue. Using the very convenient hop-on hop-off bus from Sinh Tourists, we alighted late in the afternoon right beside the Perfume River, one of the things Hue is known for, and proceeded on foot towards our lodging.

WHAT SEEMS LIKE PAGODAS AT THE PERFUME RIVER

Flora Hotel Hue was gonna be our home in the city for a single night. Yes, we’re only staying for one night. In hindsight, we should’ve at least booked two nights, Hue is just too lovely for a one night stand.

HUE’S BACKPACKERS DISTRICT

Our accommodation was just five minutes away from where we were dropped off and it was on the outskirts of Hue’s backpackers district which they dub as Pham Ngu Lao; the exact same name as the backpacker district in Saigon.

FLORA HOTEL’S NARROW FACADE

Flora Hotel is a fourteen-room four-storey affair similar to most buildings in Vietnam—narrow and tall—except it didn’t have the trappings and chaos of the usual Vietnamese shophouse. The structure sports a minimalist modern façade with a glass-front lobby and a neon sign announcing its existence.

NARROW BUT TASTEFULLY DONE HALLWAY

OUR ROOM FOR ONE NIGHT IN HUE

Heaving our backpacks down, a helpful staff surprisingly fluent in English, helped us with our check in. A few minutes later and we were sprawled on the queen-size bed, taking a much needed breather before going out again.

HOWEVER SMALL IT IS, WE HAVE A BALCONY!

EN SUITE TOILET AND BATH

Our room [CHECK DISCOUNTED RATES & AVAILABILITY] was surprisingly spacious, considering the limitation the structure has. It has an en suite toilet and bath, a sitting area with a small rounded table for coffee, and even a balcony! We didn’t expect much from it though, and we were right, the balcony is more like a narrow ledge off the side of the building, I guess built more for smoking guests than anything else.

I REALLY LIKE THE TILES!

But you got to hand it to Flora Hotel’s designer, the room is well decorated; the tiles are almost Machuca-like in its color and design intricacy, and this is also reflected on the wallpaper running along one of the walls. The furniture is tasteful and matches the design. The only thing that seemed out of place was the tiny sunflower painting hanging all by its lonesome self on the room’s cream wall.

A CURIOUS BAR IN FRONT OF FLORA HOTEL

Being on the backpackers district, there were quite a few shops, café, and food places just within our tired feet’s reach. And that last one was where our soles led us. Still not over with the banh mi we had during our Hoi An food trip, we looked for the same one in Hue, but alas, no luck.

FRIED CHICKEN WITH OMELET DINNER

We found the next best thing though, rice meals! The eateries here are set up similarly to those in the Philippines where food is displayed on a glass case and you simply point to what you want. So we pointed our way to a fried chicken meal with omelet—yes, they serve omelet for dinner, and yey for that—plus a few helpings of steamed white rice. Perfect.

FLORA HOTEL LOBBY

Our energy replenished, we went back to Flora’s lobby, connected on their free WiFi to consult our map before heading out again to the riverside walk. With limited time, we wanted to see as much as we can of Hue before taking the bus again tomorrow to Hanoi for our two-night Halong Bay cruise.

A CYCLO TOUR HAPPENING

For a former capital, the streets of Hue seemed much tamer than Saigon and Hanoi—we hardly encountered motorcycles on the sidewalk! It was full dark when we reached the riverside boulevard where colorful semi-permanent shop stalls were selling all sorts of tourist trinkets and food hawkers abound.

POSING AT TRUONG TRIEN BRIDGE, SAID TO BE DESIGNED BY EIFFEL HIMSELF

On the horizon, we spotted Gustav Eiffel’s Truong Trien Bridge, illuminated against the darkened sky by powerful lights that changes color every minute or so—yellow one moment, purple the next. There was a pedestrian walkway on the side of the bridge and we took that to cross the river.

ENTERING HUE’S IMPERIAL CITADEL

Our feet were already protesting when we reached the Imperial Citadel of Hue. It wasn’t that far, really, but we were just too doggone tired from being out on the road for more than a month now. Since it was already past nine in the evening, we decided to fully explore it the next day.

ENDING THE DAY WITH HUDA BEER

We went back the same way we came and ended our night on a watering hole near Flora, the DMZ Bar, for a couple of Huda—Hue’s local beer. Loud music was blasting from the upper floors, so we decided to sit right out on the sidewalk, watching cyclos filled to brimming with tourists and motorcycles roar across the asphalt.

THE FLORA BAR AT THE GROUND FLOOR OF THE HOTEL

The next day, we went straight to the Flora Bar, the hotel’s in-house restaurant, for breakfast. It was only then that we found what we were looking for. The banh mi we were craving for was right under our noses, they have it! Well, it wasn’t really a full blown one, but more like a baguette with a side of omelet, sliced cucumbers, and tomatoes. Still, not bad at all.

BREAKFAST ISN’T COMPLIMENTARY, BUT WITH ROOM’S PRICE, YOU KINDA EXPECT THAT

With full energy this time after a restful sleep and a good breakfast, it was time to really explore Hue! But this time, we’re probably gonna call a cab! Lol.

~ FLORA HOTEL HOSTED OUR STAY IN HUE. VIEWS AND OPINION ALL MINE.

 

Flora Hotel Hue
Address: 85 Võ Thị Sáu, Hue City, Hue, Vietnam
Contact Number: (84-234) 3848-168
Email: florahuehotel@gmail.com | Facebook
GPS Coordinates Map: 16.471273, 107.596166

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