Huế

Huế Broke Me Open
(and fed me bun bo)

Real talk from April 2024 · 7 days · ~$680 · infinite mistakes

📍 HUẾ, VIETNAM · ⏱️ Best time: Apr–May (fight me on the heat) · ☕ Coffee budget: 25k VND/day

📋 Skip around, I won't know

→ How I ended up here (impulse train) → Neighborhoods: real talk, real rants → Food that made me ugly cry → Tourist stuff vs. what actually ruled → Getting around (I almost died on a motorbike) → Where I crashed: the good, bad, lizard → The thing that surprised me → Money: what I actually spent → My screw-ups (too many) → Day by day: meant to, but then... → Practical stuff (no lists, I swear)

How I ended up in Huế

Honestly? I only came 'cause I had a stupid-cheap train ticket from Đà Nẵng – 127,000 VND, like $5. I was supposed to meet a friend in Hội An, but she bailed (wedding emergency) and I was already in Vietnam with two weeks left. I thought about heading south, but then I read something about the tombs, the river, the food. And I thought: why not? I didn't know a single person who'd been to Huế. Everyone does Hanoi, Saigon, the usual. Huế is the city people skip on the way north.

First thing I noticed stepping off the train at 3:47pm: the HEAT. Not dry, not like Đà Nẵng. It's wet, heavy, like breathing through a warm washcloth. The station smelled like coal smoke and jasmine – weird combo – and this old woman was sweeping the platform with a bunch of dried leaves tied to a stick. She smiled at me. I almost tripped over my suitcase.

⚠️ Mistake within 8 minutes: I saw a taxi queue and thought “oh, organized.” The guy said “meter, yes meter.” Then he took a route that somehow went around three roundabouts for no reason. Fare: 185k. I later took Grab from the same spot: 72k. Welcome to Huế, sucker.

Anyway. My hotel was on Kiệt 28 Nguyễn Công Trứ – a tiny alley off a tiny alley. I rolled my suitcase over loose cobblestones and nearly took out a basket of live crabs. The smell of fish sauce and fried shallots. A lady sitting on a plastic stool waved at me like she'd been expecting me. I hadn't even checked in yet and already felt less like a tourist.

I opened the window of my room – old wooden frame, didn't close all the way – and heard the Perfume River lapping somewhere far, mixed with motorbike horns and a Buddhist chant from a temple two blocks away. That's when I knew: this city was gonna be different. It wasn't trying to impress me. It just was.

The neighborhoods: real talk

❤️ FAVORITE: GIA HỘI – the island between the river branches. You HAVE to stay on the south side? Nah, that's what everyone says. But Gia Hội, on the north side, east of the Citadel – that's where I felt Huế's pulse. It's not polished. It's narrow streets, crumbling French-colonial houses with moss creeping up the walls, old women selling betel nut, and the most insane concentration of food carts per square meter. At 8am, the whole neighborhood smells of boiling beef and lemongrass – bún bộ being prepped. At 8pm, the plastic stools come out, and families sit on the sidewalks drinking chè and yelling at each other lovingly.

Specific street: Chi Lăng. I walked this at 5:30am once. Couldn't sleep. Mist was rising off the river, and a guy was unloading baskets of mint and perilla from a boat. He looked at me, didn't say anything, just nodded. It felt like I'd walked into a painting. By 9am, Chi Lăng is packed with motorbikes and tourists (me included) looking for the famous bún bò places. But that early hour? Mine.

Vỹ Dạ – it's okay, I guess. Famous for the river view and the old village vibe. But honestly, it's a bit spread out, and unless you're visiting the Thiên Mụ Pagoda (more on that later), you don't need to spend much time there. The coffee shops along the river are kinda overpriced – 50k for an americano? Come on.

🗑️ The area around Tây Lộc market – just ... skip it. I mean, I know it's real life, but it's mostly just wholesale dried goods and not much charm. I walked 15 minutes in the heat to find... nothing. A few sad ducks. Maybe I missed something, but I'm comfortable trashing it.

Where the good coffee actually is: Not the riverfront. It's on Nguyễn Sinh Cung, a tiny lane off Đinh Tiên Hoàng. There's a place with no sign – just a green door. I only found it 'cause I followed a guy carrying a phin filter. Inside, an old man roasts his own robusta in a wok. He calls it “cà phê Bà Triệu”. 15k. Smells of chocolate and burnt caramel. I went four mornings in a row.

Food That Made Me Emotional

Okay, I'm not a foodie. I'm just someone who eats. But Huế – I swear it changed my relationship with soup.

🔥 BÚN BÒ HUẾ – Quán Mệ Hến, 19/4 Nguyễn Công Trứ. I almost didn't go 'cause it's “touristy” (it's in every guide). But my host said “Mệ Hến is Mệ Hến for a reason.” She was right. The broth is dark, almost murky, with that funk of fermented shrimp paste and lemongrass. I ordered a bowl with extra bò tái, and the lady looked at me like “of course you do.” It came topped with a pork knuckle, a cube of congealed pork blood, and a mountain of fresh herbs. I added chili and a squeeze of lime. The first spoonful – I literally stopped chewing and just stared at the wall. It tasted like history, like 500 years of imperial cooking distilled into one bowl. 45k.

BÁNH BÈO – Hẻm 16/1 Kiệt Lê Ngô Cát. A woman makes these from her front porch every afternoon from 2pm. She steams the tiny rice discs in a cast-iron pan, then tops them with minced shrimp and crispy shallots. The fish sauce is sweet, sour, spicy – I asked what her secret was, and she laughed, “không có bí mật, chỉ nấu lâu thôi.” No secret, just cooking for a long time. I ate 12 plates. 36k total.

🍲 “You want the real Huế? Come at 6am.” – Mr. Tâm, who runs a cháo lòng (rice porridge with pork offal) stall on Đào Duy Từ. I set an alarm for 5:50. It was still dark, but a line of locals already snaked around his cart. He served me cháo with a piece of huyết (congealed blood) and a quẩy. I was scared of the blood. I ate it. It was soft, creamy, not irony at all. I felt like I'd unlocked a level.

The disappointing meal. I went to a highly recommended nhà hàng on Lê Lợi – won't name it, but it had white tablecloths and a wine list. I ordered bánh khoái (Huế-style crispy pancake). It came out cold, oily, with a measly amount of shrimp. 130k. I could've had four street meals for that. Never again.

Hangover cure? Not that I drank much, but one afternoon the heat + humidity gave me a dizzy headache. A vendor on Trần Hưng Đạo sold me a bag of chè bắp (sweet corn pudding) with coconut milk. 10k. I sat on the steps of the Trường Tiền bridge and ate it. Instant revival.

Street food that scared then delighted me: nem lụi – grilled pork skewers. I saw a cart with what looked like tubes of reddish meat. I pointed, the lady wrapped the grilled pork in rice paper with green banana, cucumber, and a ridiculous amount of herbs. Then she handed me a bowl of peanut sauce. I bit into it. Crunchy, fatty, herbaceous. I ate five. 30k.

💰 Expensive mistake: I bought a box of mè xửng (Huế sesame candy) from a shop near Đông Ba market. 180k for a big box. Then I saw the exact same thing at the airport for 95k. Everything's gone up, but that was just dumb.

Tourist Stuff vs. What Actually Ruled

The Citadel – Look, it IS impressive. You have to go. But it's also huge, hot, and half of it is ruins (which I like, actually). The real magic? Walk to the far northeast corner, near the Tịnh Tâm Lake. Almost no tourists. I sat under a frangipani tree at 4:30pm, and the light hit the crumbling walls like honey. That's the moment. Not the main gate.

💡 Skip the Royal Antiquities Museum. Unless you REALLY need to see chipped porcelain behind dusty glass. I felt like I was in a high school storage closet. Overrated.

Thiên Mụ Pagoda – Fine, I guess. It's iconic. But it was overrun with tour groups when I went (10am, mistake). The lady selling birdseed was relentless. The best part was the old Austin car that carried Thích Quảng Đức to Saigon – that gave me chills. But honestly? The pagoda itself? It's fine.

What my Airbnb host recommended: “Don't just do the royal tombs. Go to the tomb of Đồng Khánh. It's smaller, weirder, and the mosaics are nuts.” She was right. Đồng Khánh's tomb is a fusion of traditional Vietnamese and European elements, with broken porcelain and glass embedded in concrete dragons. I went at 3pm, had the whole place to myself. A lizard watched me from a wall. I named him Long.

The thing I found by accident: I was walking along the south bank of the river, trying to find a café. I turned down a random alley and stumbled into the Ho Chi Minh Museum (not the one in Saigon). It's in a beautiful French colonial building, almost empty. I learned about Huế during the war, saw a letter Uncle Ho wrote to the people of Thừa Thiên. No entry fee, just a donation box. I gave 50k. It felt more real than the citadel.

Getting Around: What Google Maps Won't Tell You

Motorbike rental – I rented from a guy on Kiệt 14, no sign, just a handwritten paper taped to the door. 120k/day. The bike was a beat-up Honda Wave, no fuel gauge. I ran out of gas on the way to Lăng Tự Đức. Pushed it 2km in 36°C heat. A farmer on a scooter stopped, laughed, and siphoned a cup of gas from his own tank. I tried to pay him; he refused. “Giúp đỡ lẫn nhau.” Help each other. I almost cried.

The bus to the tombs – I thought I'd be smart. Bus #3, they said. It took me to An Cựu, not the tombs. I waited 45 minutes, asked three people, finally an old man gestured that I needed the minibus with “Lăng” on the windshield, not the city bus. I gave up and grabbed a Grab. 150k.

⚠️ Cyclo scam near Đông Ba: Guy said 30k for 15 mins. I got on. He took me around the block, stopped, said “each person 30k, plus waiting.” I argued, he got aggressive. I gave him 50k and walked away. Lesson: agree on total price, and say “một người, một chiều” – one person, one way.

Walking – Actually better than you'd think. Huế is flat, and the sidewalks are wide-ish. But watch for motorbikes going the wrong way. On Phạm Hồng Thái, they don't even pretend.

Hack I learned day 4: The Perfume River boat tours are overpriced. Instead, take the local ferry from the pier near Trường Tiền bridge. It goes to Vân Dương village for 5k. I spent an hour on the water, watching water hyacinth float by. Best 5k I spent.

Where I Stayed: The Good, Bad, and Weird

Nhà Của Tôi Homestay, Kiệt 28 Nguyễn Công Trứ. $21/night on Agoda. The photos showed clean white walls and a minibar. What they didn't show: the ancient ceiling fan that clicked in 4/4 time, the gecko that lived behind the wardrobe, and the shower that alternated between cold and cold-with-occasional-warm.

THE SHOWER – you had to turn the water heater on 20 minutes before. Even then, it was lukewarm at best. But honestly, in that heat, cold water was a gift.

THE NOISE – Not motorbikes. The TEMPLE. A Buddhist pagoda two houses away started chanting at 4:30am. Not loud, but that low resonant hum. First morning I was annoyed. Third morning I woke up 5 minutes before it started, as if my body craved it.

THE WEIRD – The host, Ms. Xuân, had a pet potbelly pig named Bắp. He slept in the courtyard. One afternoon I was sitting there writing postcards, and Bắp came over, snuffled my foot, and lay down on my flip-flops. I didn't move for an hour.

Price: $147 for 7 nights. Worth it? 100%. I'd live with a clicking fan and a possessive pig any day for that courtyard and the smell of jasmine at dusk.

The Thing That Surprised Me

I thought Huế would feel ... mournful. It was the imperial capital, but it's also where the Tet Offensive saw some of the worst fighting. I read about the massacre at Huế. I expected a city still in mourning.

But that's not what I felt. I felt this quiet resilience. People aren't walking around with the weight of history. They're eating noodles, selling vegetables, arguing over parking spots. The bullet holes in the Citadel walls are still there, but they're partly covered by moss. The city doesn't ignore its past; it just ... lives on top of it.

One evening I sat near the memorial for the civilians killed in 1968. It's on the south bank, not heavily visited. An old woman was selling lotus seeds nearby. I bought a bag. She pointed at the memorial and said, “hồi đó tôi còn nhỏ.” I was just a child then. She didn't say more. She didn't need to.

That's the thing that surprised me: the absence of spectacle. Huế doesn't perform its tragedy. It just holds it quietly, like an heirloom you keep in a drawer.

Money: What I Actually Spent

I tracked every đồng because my mom taught me to. No rounding. Here's the breakdown, including all my dumb decisions.

Category	VND	USD	Worth it?
Accommodation (7 nights)	3,528,000	$147	❤️❤️❤️ (pig Bắp)
Food & drink (7 days)	2,115,000	$88	Best $88 of my life
Transport (Grab, gas, train)	980,000	$41	except the taxi day1
Sightseeing (tombs, citadel, etc)	820,000	$34	Đồng Khánh worth it
Souvenirs, random	930,000	$39	overpaid sesame candy
Other (laundry, tips, donation)	360,000	$15	HCM museum donation
TOTAL	8,733,000 VND	$364	+ flight to ĐN $315 = $679

💰 Savings tip: Drink cà phê vợt (filtered coffee with condensed milk) at street stalls – 12k. The riverfront places charge 45k. Same drink, same view if you sit two blocks in.

Mistakes I Made So You Don't Have To

1. I didn't book the train ticket in advance. I got lucky, but the lady next to me paid 300k for a soft seat that was actually hard. Buy at least 3 days ahead.
2. Packed a raincoat but not mosquito repellent. Huế in April: humid, rainy 20 minutes then sun. I have 17 bites on my left ankle. The repellent at the local pharmacy (80k) worked but smelled like industrial solvent.
3. Rented a motorbike without checking the tyres. Flattened on a dirt road near Minh Mạng tomb. A roadside repair man fixed it for 30k and refused a tip. I felt like an idiot. Check your damn tyres.
4. I tried to see three tombs in one day. By the third one (Tự Đức), I was heat-exhausted and could not appreciate the poetry carved on the walls. Pick two. Max.
5. Didn't learn the word for “no msg”. I have a mild sensitivity. Day 2 I asked for bún bò and said “không bột ngọt” – the vendor laughed, but she made it without. Easy phrase. Use it.

"I got on the wrong minibus – thought it was going to Lăng Khải Định, but it was going to some village called Hương Cần. I ended up at a riverside market, bought a grilled sweet potato, and watched boats unload water spinach. Best 2 hours of the trip. The driver waited for me. I tipped him 50k."

How It Actually Went: Day by Day

Saturday: Arrived 4pm. Taxi scam. Checked in, met Bắp the pig, ate bún bò at Mệ Hến. Fell asleep at 8pm.

Sunday: Meant to go to the Citadel. Woke up at 5:45 to chanting. Couldn't sleep, so walked to the river. Saw a man catching snails with a bamboo basket. Got coffee at the green door place. Citadel at 9am was already hot. Left by 11. Ate bánh bèo in Gia Hội. Napped. At 4pm, walked to Tịnh Tâm Lake – ruins, frangipani, perfect.

Monday – tomb day fail: Rented motorbike. Visited Lăng Minh Mạng – impressive but huge. Then drove to Lăng Tự Đức, but the tyre went flat. Got it fixed. By the time I reached Tự Đức, I was drained. Spent 30 minutes lying on a stone bench. Skipped Lăng Khải Định. On the way back, ran out of gas. Farmer saved me. Ate nem lụi for dinner.

Tuesday: Slept in. Market day: Đông Ba. Overwhelming smells of fish paste and dried squid. Bought too much sesame candy. Afternoon: Ho Chi Minh Museum (accidental). Sat by the river and wrote postcards. Evening – boat ferry to Vân Dương, 5k.

Wednesday: Planned to see Thiên Mụ, but a local at coffee recommended the tomb of Đồng Khánh instead. Took Grab. Worth it. Ate bánh khoái at a stall near the train station – better than the fancy restaurant.

Thursday: Rainy morning. Stayed in, read a book on the balcony. Bắp snuffled around. Afternoon: Imperial Museum? nah, went back to Gia Hội and ate chè at three different stalls.

Friday – last full day: Finally visited Thiên Mụ. Crowded, but the car gave me chills. Walked the path along the river back to the city – 4km. Stopped for iced coffee. Packed.

Saturday: Early train to Đà Nẵng. Ms. Xuân packed me a banana and a bottle of water. Bắp watched from the gate. I cried a little.

Practical Stuff (Without the Boring Lists)

Almost-scam: At Đông Ba, a woman offered to “help me find the best sesame candy.” She led me to a shop, then demanded 50k commission. I said “không, cảm ơn” and walked. She followed for a bit, then gave up. Just say no firmly.

Health thing: I have a weak stomach. Ate street food 2-3 times a day. Never got sick. But I stuck to places with high turnover and watched locals eat there first. Also carried charcoal tablets – didn't need them, but peace of mind.

Song that was everywhere: “Dễ Đến Dễ Đi” by Hoàng Thùy Linh. I heard it in coffee shops, on a vendor's tinny speaker, even on a boat. Now it's stuck in my head forever. Not mad.

What I wish I'd packed: A reusable cup. So much plastic. Also a thin scarf – not for temples (I had that), but for wiping sweat. Huế is WET.

Inside joke: My friend back home texted “how many bowls of bun bo?” I replied “more than days.” She said “that's not an achievement, it's a lifestyle.” I think about that a lot.

💡 Local phrase that opened doors: “Dạ, cho con một suất ăn như người địa phương.” (Yes, give me a portion like the locals.) Use it. I got smaller portions? no, I got the REAL portions.

Also, April is hot. Not like “oh it's warm.” Like, my glasses fogged up when I stepped outside. But the rain comes fast and leaves fast. Locals don't even run. They just keep eating noodles under awnings. I learned to do the same.

Still have questions? Wanna debate bun bo?

Drop a comment – I read every single one. Even if you just want to know more about Bắp the pig.

Last updated: April 2024 · Prices probably changed already · sorry