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May2016
tocoffeeandWiFi. Ironically, outside
theCitadel, there ismore that remains
unchanged.LacThienrestaurant, famous
amonggenerationsofbackpackers,
stubbornlyremainsahole-in-the-wall
affair, forexample.Mr.Lacstillmakeshis
beer-bottleopeners fromanail stuckona
pieceofwood, stillmakesashowofflipping
bottlecapsopen, andstill givesaway the
contraptionswithhisautograph.Themenu
remainsprettymuchunchanged, though
heandhis familymusthavemademillions
ofHue-stylespringrollsandbanana
Pinoy to theworld
pancakesbynow.
Across theriver, theHotelSaigon
still standsasafineexampleofFrench
colonial architecture— it’s tempting to
imagine that ithaschanged littlesince it
wasfirstbuilt in1901, thoughofcourse
thereality is that itwasdestroyedduring
theVietnamWar, andrebuiltonly in1997.
Still, therenovationwaspretty faithful to
theoriginalHotelMorin, and it remainsa
quiet, elegantpresence in thecity.
Ridingonrentedmotorcycles into the
rural areasoutsideHueproper, however,
spectacularway tocelebrate theriver that
separates the ImperialCitadel from the
restof the town.
Hueseems tohaveaknack for
preserving things.TheCitadel still stands
asaUNESCOWorldHeritageSite, and
while teamsofworkersandscientists
struggle topreservewhat remainsof the
ForbiddenCity inside, theotherareas
within theold forthaveadapted tomodern
timesmoregracefully, offeringeverything
from “Made inVietnam” items (export
overrunsperhaps, ifnotoutrightcopies)
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