Compelled To Sleep In Hue City

Compelled To Sleep In Hue City

It seems that Hue, the former Imperial Capital of Vietnam, stays up late only to hold its annual festivals. When guests who come from nation-wide and many countries in the world leave, Hue returns instantly to its inherent peaceful life. All streets are deserted after 10 PM although the weather is beautiful to walk along the poetic Huong River, or sit at a coffee-house with friends contemplating the ancient Imperial Palace of Hue exposing its mysteries in the moon light.

However, we have few opportunities to keep late hours in Hue. 10 PM is considered to be late in the evening. Most pubs close early. That doesn’t mean publicans there show a disregard for their guests and their incomes. It is only “one swallow doesn’t make a spring”. There is no reason to keep the lights on every night and stay up late only to wait on a sparse travellers.

The internet coffee-house, where I am sitting now, is also resounding with sounds of the clean-up. It is time to end a business day there. The mistress proves her goodwill to wait untill I finish my browsing on web pages. It is very accidental when I find a public opinion survey on www.hue.vnn.vn Its subject is interesting and relating to state of my mind: “Hue is still an early sleeping city. What do you do to bring Hue late nights and a youthful, dynamic city?”.

The mistress glances her eyes over my computer and catches the public opinion survey about “Hue’s sleep question”. She forget entirely to seek to drive the last guest out her house, instead of coming and sitting by me, contributing her ideas. “Hue doesn’t need to stay up late!”, she say, “I am in business, while I prefer a quiet Hue to a busy Hue. It is injustice to say Hue sleep early. Because Hue has its own way to utilize its free time by night. It is an opportunity to enjoy a meditative atmosphere of the ancient capital. It is a private, profound moment of life. Only in Hue you can listen echoes of the bells from remote pagodas in midnight or in dawn. It is worthy of your appreciation, isn’t it? Most international tourists come from busy industrial cities in the world. What do they find from Hue if not a calm night and a sweet sleep there? Therefore, in other words, having no noisy crowded night-life with a large number of pubs, bars - this ancient city is still an interesting tourist site”.

I am persuaded easily by the mistress, a charming woman of Hue; however, I fall into a cold void space of a long night ahead when I am leaving the warm coffee-house for my hotel. That is why I want to request kindly that Hue should be in a quiet city and preserve its historic values. Hue is… Hue, a simple reason. Nevertheless, Hue would better also have more nightclubs, located at suitable sites, with live entertainment by night so that young people as me not compelled to sleep in Hue, especially Hue has just approved as the principal festival city of Vietnam.

10PM? I finish work at 11:30 every night, I usually eat dinner at 1

Hi Boke,

so when do you have breakfast?