We stayed at a really great home stay in Hue, just meters from the gate of the Imperial City. It was great! The owner gave us breakfast every morning, we got to play with her two puppies, and it really felt like we were at home. On Tuesday, she invited several of the guests out to go watch a performance of traditional music.
The show would start at 8:00, so we left the house around 7:30 to walk across the Perfume River and through the town to the cultural center where the show would be held. Several guests rode motorbikes, but Pinky, me, an older Japanese man, and the home stay owner walked together.
The Japanese man didn't speak much English, but Pinky knows some Japanese, and with a little pantomiming, we were able to communicate! He told us that he was 71 years-old, and traveling through Southeast Asia. After Hue he would go to Da Nang, then Bangkok and Luang Prabang, Laos. He's really cool! A tough old guy who stays at hostel dorms and walks a lot! He showed me on his smart watch that he had walked 15k that day!
The show was a performance of traditional Vietnamese instruments that was put on by a community musical club. Our host told us that her home stay had only been open for one month, but that she wants to bring her guests out to do lots of free stuff in Hue. She really likes bringing her guests to see this show, since it's a way of preserving a very traditional style of music and an important part of the culture.
The group showed us many different instruments, some similar to the instruments that my Thai students play at school, some more Chinese, and some that I had never seen before. One lady, for example, played the Two Very Small Teacups, literally two teacups that she held in each hand. From those two porcelain cups, she could make so many different sounds!
After the show, we got to meet the performers and take pictures with them. This was one of the coolest things we've gotten to do in Vietnam! Besides the guests from the home stay, everyone else in the audience were locals who stopped by to see the performance. This isn't a touristy performance - it's a real local weekly tradition! Our Japanese friend was super nice, he gave everyone cough drops to enjoy during the show.
Afterwards, we walked back across the river to the ancient town. Our host took us to try a traditional Hue dessert called "che", which translates to something like "sweet soup". It's a cup of crushed ice and delicious fruit mixed with syrup.
We sat on tiny plastic stools enjoying our che as a little group. Even though it was night, the air was muggy and warm. The icy dessert really helped to cool us off!
This was a great day! We really felt like locals in Hue today, and it's so nice to have a local friend to show us around and make us feel so comfortable and welcome. This is the best place we've stayed in Vietnam so far. Our host is super friendly and we feel right at home.
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