Part 2 - on to Hue, central Viet Nam

So...in Hue, here's the Pot....and the fish...

at the Emperor's Imperial City, built in the early 19th century, and home of the Nguyen Dynasty until 1945.

No...the "pot" above is more than 6' tall and 9' in diameter, 1 of 9 made of brass, still in place inside the walls of the Forbidden City, where only the king, his family, servants and attendants could enter. A moat around the City has schools of fish which compete in a frenzy for the food thrown to them.

In truth, earthen pots were used for cooking the royal meals, which each had 35 dishes. The pots were first put into a big pan full of green tea and well cooked to create a layer of green covering them. After being so "enameled" the pots were used one time for the king's meal, then broken.


To this day, Hue cuisine is prepared with flavors and in a style recognized as unique to this province. The "Hue cakes" are a variety of savory and sweet combinations steamed in banana and other local tropical trees' leaves. We enjoyed 4 kinds of Hue cakes in a vegetarian restaurant across the street from the Hue LRC. The young women on either side of Anne are the young, bright enthusiastic managers of Information Resources and Services at the busy Hue LRC, which opened in 2004. The LRC Director was away, planning for an exciting new program of e-learning in medical colleges and libraries for which the Dutch government has provided funding. In a country where there are lonly 4.6 doctors per 10,000 people, every effort is needed to expand access to training, especially for the many rural communities.

......Next stop Mekong Delta