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Other entries in Huế

Fantastic and Horrible Day

only have energy for a short one today

Long bus ride and then brigh sun light. we fight off hotel vendors and make our way to a air conditioned room for a quick nap. we wake and rent motorbikes (and helmets too mom) to do a tour of the historic town and the surrounding rural areas. while filling up the bikes, we meet this man named Ty (pronounced Tee) and he asks to join us for the day as our unofficial tour guide and his price would be the chance to practice his english. we agreed and he led us into the outskirts of town. we stopped at his small wooden house for some green tea and more detailed introductions. we learned that his father was in the South Vietnamese Army and faught along side the Americans. after the war, his father was put in prison and after two years, died there. later, Ty tried to escape with his mother to America but their bamboo boat sank about a km out to sea. he returned and accepted his life as a shunned Vietnamese and became a farmer. we drank several cups of tea and then set out to see some tombs.

we saw two lavishly decorated, massive plots of land but the first was in more decay than the second. we walked around while Ty waited outside (he had seen these many times and it cost money to get in). he told us that he had alreday planted his rice for the season and he had 1.5 months to wait until harvesting thus he had some free time to kill by hanging out with tourists. overall the tombs were worth seeing but a little bit overhyped. after the two sights, we returned to Ty's home and had more tea. then we went swimming in the river that borders his home. it was very hot so the water felt amazing. we swam around, trying not to ingest any of the potentially fatal liquid. we saw a pair of kids swim past us towards a group of their friends perched on the support structure for an bridge overpass. one of the kids was holding a plastic bag containing a deck of cars out of the water above is head while using the other arm to swim and feed himself juice from a purple juice box. pretty talented kid.

we got out and returned to the house to eat a lunch that Ty's wife prepared. pork and noodle soup that was excellent. none of Ty's family joined us for the meal. we even had pineapple as a dessert and when i offered the last piece to the chef, she shook her head quickly as if i were handing her an infected syringe. after lunch, more tea and then it was time to go. as we were leaving, Ty's son came into the hut and said something in Vietnamese. Ty turned to us and translated that a young girl had been in the river and apparently couldnt swim and sank. he seemed completely matter-o-fact about the dramatic situation. as we drove out of his village on our bikes, we passed a huddled mass of people surrounding a cold and purple looking body on a blue tarp. Ty stopped to talk with someone for a minute and i turned to David and said he should maybe try CPR since he is a lifeguard. he confered with Ty and then got off his bike and was allowed to attempt to save this girls life. after about 15 minutes, it was clear that nothing could be done and that she was dead.

the rest of the day was moot.

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