Up reasonably early. Well there is no choice really in an Asian city. People are up and about by 6am. School starts at 6.30. Work begins at a suitably early time. Because everyone works there is no decorum for keeping quiet. One up all up. The day starts with dogs barking, temple bells ringing, people shouting and of course the obligatory vehicle horns. A veritable cacophony.
We had to check out of our glorious little house by midday and we don’t catch the night train to Nimh Bin till 21:30.This meant carrying our backpacks and worldly goods with us all day. Although not big they are quite heavy and can get in the way whilst “mooching”
As luck would have it we have been befriended by a lovely lady who runs a cafe called Tay Coffeee at the end of our street. She liked Crispy’s perfume and fortunately Crispy had been given a small sample bottle at the airport. As Crispy had given her this small token she was now a friend for life. In fact we are now joined on Facetube, Twatter and several other social media forums. She is coming to stay with us at Crispy HQ and is maid of honour at our daughters wedding.
She has agreed to let us leave the back packs in her cafe whilst we spend the day “mooching” around the imperial palace. A huge help.
The palace is immense. The house where we are staying is within the outer city walls and the palace and forbidden city are a stone throw away. It’s hard to describe the scale of it but a sign stated that the inner palace and forbidden city alone cover 500 hectares. Not a bad piece of real estate.
We walked around the complex for several hours. Stopping for the occasional refreshment of course. It was very impressive and a wonder to behold. Small areas of it were destroyed in the recent wars but are being rebuilt with aid from foreign nations and proceeds from the entry tickets.
Google it if your interested for better pics and information. At one point we entered the house of the Eunochs and concubines. In 1850 one hundred and fifty lads and lasses was considered reasonable to satisfy the needs of the emperor. All separated into differing ranks and responsibilities and all under the governorship of the Queen Mother’s.
interesting fact. None of us were familiar with the reasons a young guy would become a eunuch. It’s a pretty dramatic life changing decision to have your bits cut off to improve your CV, I for one am very attached to my appendages and wouldn’t take this decision lightly to get a job. Cut your hair, shave your beard seems reasonable but have your willy and goodies cut off seems severe. It seems there were several reasons to become a court eunuch....
1: Your dad sold you off as it was a way to make money. In retrospect maybe I should have considered this
2: You sold yourself if no other career path was open to you. (Many eunochs achieved very high status in the Royal courts.
3: A death sentence could be commuted to a life of bit less servitude.
The operation was carried out by the court surgeon who after binding your thighs and abdomen to prevent bleeding out asked “Have you any doubts?”. If you showed any sign of doubt then the procedure was aborted. If not the he sliced off your willy and danglers with a specially designed knife. A pewter spigot was then inserted into the urethra for 3 days and you were not allowed to drink. If after 3 days when the spigot was removed you could pass water then the operation was a success. If not you died a painful lingering death. The success rate was 98%. The bits were put in a sealed jar and given back to you to keep. One reason was they became proof of your city and guilds qualification the other is that you couldn’t be buried without them.
After several hours we made our way out of the palace to a little rice shop I had found the previous evening. We were running low on the dong kitty and I had a walk to try and find a money exchange or ATM. As it was late and no shops that offer exchange were open so I tried to find a machine.
After an age of walking the streets I found one but it would not accept the card. Making my way back I passed the rice shop. A guy called Hun was frying rice outside his shop on a side road. I asked if he
knew of any other machines. He explained there was one but it was a long way away and too far to
walk.
He insisted on taking me on his scooter. Within moments I was behind him on his bike racing through the busy streets. He wanted no reward and was happy to help.
Tonight I felt obliged to eat there. Plus the food looked amazing. We were not disappointed and Hun was very happy to see us.
After dinner we picked up the bags and headed to the train station and our next adventure. The night train.
To be continued.........
Bare Crispy and Windy LynNZ signing off, Hue train station. 🇻🇳
We had to check out of our glorious little house by midday and we don’t catch the night train to Nimh Bin till 21:30.This meant carrying our backpacks and worldly goods with us all day. Although not big they are quite heavy and can get in the way whilst “mooching”
As luck would have it we have been befriended by a lovely lady who runs a cafe called Tay Coffeee at the end of our street. She liked Crispy’s perfume and fortunately Crispy had been given a small sample bottle at the airport. As Crispy had given her this small token she was now a friend for life. In fact we are now joined on Facetube, Twatter and several other social media forums. She is coming to stay with us at Crispy HQ and is maid of honour at our daughters wedding.
She has agreed to let us leave the back packs in her cafe whilst we spend the day “mooching” around the imperial palace. A huge help.
The palace is immense. The house where we are staying is within the outer city walls and the palace and forbidden city are a stone throw away. It’s hard to describe the scale of it but a sign stated that the inner palace and forbidden city alone cover 500 hectares. Not a bad piece of real estate.
We walked around the complex for several hours. Stopping for the occasional refreshment of course. It was very impressive and a wonder to behold. Small areas of it were destroyed in the recent wars but are being rebuilt with aid from foreign nations and proceeds from the entry tickets.
Google it if your interested for better pics and information. At one point we entered the house of the Eunochs and concubines. In 1850 one hundred and fifty lads and lasses was considered reasonable to satisfy the needs of the emperor. All separated into differing ranks and responsibilities and all under the governorship of the Queen Mother’s.
interesting fact. None of us were familiar with the reasons a young guy would become a eunuch. It’s a pretty dramatic life changing decision to have your bits cut off to improve your CV, I for one am very attached to my appendages and wouldn’t take this decision lightly to get a job. Cut your hair, shave your beard seems reasonable but have your willy and goodies cut off seems severe. It seems there were several reasons to become a court eunuch....
1: Your dad sold you off as it was a way to make money. In retrospect maybe I should have considered this
2: You sold yourself if no other career path was open to you. (Many eunochs achieved very high status in the Royal courts.
3: A death sentence could be commuted to a life of bit less servitude.
The operation was carried out by the court surgeon who after binding your thighs and abdomen to prevent bleeding out asked “Have you any doubts?”. If you showed any sign of doubt then the procedure was aborted. If not the he sliced off your willy and danglers with a specially designed knife. A pewter spigot was then inserted into the urethra for 3 days and you were not allowed to drink. If after 3 days when the spigot was removed you could pass water then the operation was a success. If not you died a painful lingering death. The success rate was 98%. The bits were put in a sealed jar and given back to you to keep. One reason was they became proof of your city and guilds qualification the other is that you couldn’t be buried without them.
After several hours we made our way out of the palace to a little rice shop I had found the previous evening. We were running low on the dong kitty and I had a walk to try and find a money exchange or ATM. As it was late and no shops that offer exchange were open so I tried to find a machine.
After an age of walking the streets I found one but it would not accept the card. Making my way back I passed the rice shop. A guy called Hun was frying rice outside his shop on a side road. I asked if he
knew of any other machines. He explained there was one but it was a long way away and too far to
walk.
He insisted on taking me on his scooter. Within moments I was behind him on his bike racing through the busy streets. He wanted no reward and was happy to help.
Tonight I felt obliged to eat there. Plus the food looked amazing. We were not disappointed and Hun was very happy to see us.
After dinner we picked up the bags and headed to the train station and our next adventure. The night train.
To be continued.........
Bare Crispy and Windy LynNZ signing off, Hue train station. 🇻🇳
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