Hit the Joe, Jack (Day 11-12: Hue)

Hue is a former capital of Vietnam and is home to the old imperial complex, called the Citadel. On the first day, we got a tour of this walled and moated area that has many intricate buildings dated back to the early 1800s. Our tour guide was Mr. Tang, a very knowledgeable and quite funny person who spoke English pretty well, except for a few eccentricities.
After he made a joke, which he often interspersed between history lessons, he would say, "That's a funny." He also directed us to take "arty farty photo." When it was time to go, he would exclaim in a strong Vietnamese accent, "Hit the Joe, Jack!" Needless to say, we liked Mr. Tang.

That night, we ate at a restaurant called Lac Thien, run by a deaf guy and his family, many of whom are also deaf. The owner came out, and even though he's deaf, it didn't stop him from communicating. He pulled out his family tree, and he proudly showed us that he has had 7 kids, all with perfect hearing. He also has invented a beer opener made from a piece of wood and a screw. We ordered 5 beers, and he opened them all at once by lining up the beers with the openers attached and karate chopping them. Then, he made an opener for every one of us.

The next day, Mr. Tang was our guide again, this time for a motorbike tour of Hue and the surrounding countryside. We all got our own driver, and hopped on the back for an adventurous ride. We stopped at several sites close to the city and then drove down dirt roads into the countryside. All the kids we passed yelled "Hello" and many held out their hands for a high five. At one point, we stopped at a kindergarden class, and all the kids came out to greet us and take pictures with us. They were very cute. At the end, we rode in the crazy traffic back into town to our hotel. All in all, it was an amazing experience.