Have you ever been to a cyber casino? With nothing to do last night in the Imperial City of Hue, we went for a walk and passed a 5 start hotel with a casino. What we found inside was quite different to anything I have seen before in a casino. Like all Asian places, there were about five people to serve each one of us and watch for our every nuanced request. I told them I wanted to play blackjack so they led me over to the ‘tables.’ There was actually a dealer, sort of, and she frankly spoke to us quite nicely. I liked the first dealer the best because she had a great smile, but the other dealers were not so bad really. They all spoke sexily, were complimentary and quite efficient. The only different thing about them, really, was their appearance. They appeared on a screen and were cyber dealers. However, they were as good as any dealer I have ever faced in Las Vegas and were as good as Vegas in taking my money (and Josh’s).
Gambling was certainly something I cannot get in Bangkok.A friend’s wife was arrested in her own house for gambling in Thailand. Another difference between Thailand and Vietnam is the clear Chinese and French cultural influences. China ruled over Vietnam for a 1000 years, so until the French came there was Chinese writing or characters. It wasn’t until after the French came that the Roman alphabet was introduced, even though you pronounce words at your own peril because the accents tell you whether to go up, down or sideways and like Thai, it is a tonal language. Every Vietnamese word only has one syllable which makes things somewhat easy. Viet nam, for example, means south of China and Han oi means between the rivers.
In Hue, we saw the tombs of three emperors constructed during the Chinese period and today we saw the imperial city or walled city which reminded me very much of the Forbidden City in Beijing. A lot of it was destroyed in either the French War of the American War and we certainly saw bullet holes and crumbling brick to prove it. However, the ‘city’ itself was quite fascinating with its beautiful Chinese architecture.
Hue is quite an interesting but peaceful city. I think we have seen it all in the last few days. We even went to Ho Chi Minh’s house last night but there was no electricity. Some old man, who said he was Ho’s uncle lit a candle to show us around the meager two or three rooms. He collected rain water in a big barrel from the eves trough, I guess for drinking and bathing.
Hoi An was a quaint little town south of Hue which most people visit for shopping, I guess. It was virtually untouched by the American War and no matter which taxi, cyclo or store you go in to, they all have a cousin or sister or parent who runs the best tailoring shop in Ho An. Josh and I had shirts made with monogrammed cuffs. I don’t care if the shirt falls apart after one wash. I just loved the concept of buying a tailored made shirt with monograms for $15. Josh also had a jacket made which was delivered to us in Hue ( three hours away) that very evening and it fit perfectly.
Yesterday, in Hue, if you look at my pictures, we had pictures done for $1 dressed up as the imperial king andQueen. These pictures were delivered to my hotel a few hours after taking them. Amazing really.
Now I am just sitting in a departure lounge waiting for our flight to Ho Chi MInh city, ( Saigon) and I can’t wait to get back to the heat!
Gambling was certainly something I cannot get in Bangkok.A friend’s wife was arrested in her own house for gambling in Thailand. Another difference between Thailand and Vietnam is the clear Chinese and French cultural influences. China ruled over Vietnam for a 1000 years, so until the French came there was Chinese writing or characters. It wasn’t until after the French came that the Roman alphabet was introduced, even though you pronounce words at your own peril because the accents tell you whether to go up, down or sideways and like Thai, it is a tonal language. Every Vietnamese word only has one syllable which makes things somewhat easy. Viet nam, for example, means south of China and Han oi means between the rivers.
In Hue, we saw the tombs of three emperors constructed during the Chinese period and today we saw the imperial city or walled city which reminded me very much of the Forbidden City in Beijing. A lot of it was destroyed in either the French War of the American War and we certainly saw bullet holes and crumbling brick to prove it. However, the ‘city’ itself was quite fascinating with its beautiful Chinese architecture.
Hue is quite an interesting but peaceful city. I think we have seen it all in the last few days. We even went to Ho Chi Minh’s house last night but there was no electricity. Some old man, who said he was Ho’s uncle lit a candle to show us around the meager two or three rooms. He collected rain water in a big barrel from the eves trough, I guess for drinking and bathing.
Hoi An was a quaint little town south of Hue which most people visit for shopping, I guess. It was virtually untouched by the American War and no matter which taxi, cyclo or store you go in to, they all have a cousin or sister or parent who runs the best tailoring shop in Ho An. Josh and I had shirts made with monogrammed cuffs. I don’t care if the shirt falls apart after one wash. I just loved the concept of buying a tailored made shirt with monograms for $15. Josh also had a jacket made which was delivered to us in Hue ( three hours away) that very evening and it fit perfectly.
Yesterday, in Hue, if you look at my pictures, we had pictures done for $1 dressed up as the imperial king andQueen. These pictures were delivered to my hotel a few hours after taking them. Amazing really.
Now I am just sitting in a departure lounge waiting for our flight to Ho Chi MInh city, ( Saigon) and I can’t wait to get back to the heat!
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