Cheap Flight from Hanoi to Hue.
We arrived back in Hanoi after another good train trip from Sapa. Arriving at 4.30 didn't feel that tough - maybe we're becoming used to early starts.
There was a suprising amount of life on Hanoi's streets at that time of the morning; women setting up and serving from noodle and baguette stalls, scooters honking and racing around, shops opening - all before 5am.
We were glad to be met by Ti, the guy from our Hotel Rendezvous, who'd organised a taxi back for . We all fell asleep for a few more hours, before rising at 8ish for our final day in Hanoi.
Posted a suit and the shirts Chris had tailored in Hoi An onto Harry and Becks in Melbourne, along with our Planets for New Zealand and South America, and about 400 of the tea bags that Michael and Eija brought over for us)

Hue Backpackers

Then had a coffee and brownie and people-watched from a cafe balcony overlooking Hoan Kiem lake.
After our final lunch and beer with Michael and Eija on one of the old town backstreets, it was time to bid a tearful farewell as they needed to get to the airport for their flight back to Ho Chi Minh, and then London. It was very sad to see them go; it's been lovely seeing Vietnam with them - sort of felt like being at home, whilst being a million miles away at the same time. And we've been really enjoying accommodation and lovely restaurants, etc, that we would have forgone if travelling solo. Back to hostel dorm living and eating at street food stalls now!
After the goodbyes we killed some time watching telly and Skyped Tim in our hotel room before our 11pm sleeper train to Hue.
Stepping into our train carriage brought us back down to earth with a bump. We'd quickly become accustomed to the relative luxury of the train to and from Sapa, with wood pannelled cabins, Western style porcelain toilets, marble top sinks and complimentary drinks. The train to Hue was of a different class altogether. The cabin was filthy, with packets of food and popcorn scattered over our bunks. Mattresses, pillows and the quilts were stained brown, ripped and smelt.
Once we'd dragged our bags onto our bunk and attempted to get comfortable, our cabin filled up. It was meant to hold 4 people, but we ended up with 8. Luckily we spread out over the top bunks, blocking access, but 6 people managed to cram into the two bunks below, and proceeded to argue with one another, the train conductor, and their mobile phones

In addition they were piping warbling Vietnamese pop 'music' direct into our cabin at ear piercing volumes.
I thought I'd try to block their noise out by immersing myself in the trashy chick lit novel I'd traded for Dispatches at the hotel in Hoi An, but as I settled down to start reading it discovered that pages 2-74 were missing. Grr. So had little choice but just try to get some sleep.
Eventually though the arguments died down, and the train settled down to sleep (on bunks, the floor, the corridor, on the floor between carriages, outside the toilet). 
Apart from an early wake up (our cabin mate listening to Vietnamese hip hop loudly on his ghetto blaster), the rest of the journey wasn't too bad and we got a surprising amount of sleep, considering. We arrived in Hue about 10.30, and were unexpectedly picked up by our hostel, Hue Backpackers.
After dumping our bags and having a quick clean up we set out to explore Hue city, another UNESC0 World Heritage Site. Walked over the Truong Tien bridge to the old part of the city on the north side of the Hương Giang (Perfume River). Strolled around the perimeter wall of the crumbling Citadel, which is surrounded by a moat. Inside the Citadel we visited the Imperial Enclosure (a citadel within a citadel, which was the imperial seat of government), and the Forbidden Purple City (for sole use by the emperor and his family, 400-odd concubines, and eunuch servants who wouldn't pose a threat to the concubines).

Forbidden City, Hue

The Forbidden Purple City (which is not very purple) is set out in a very similar way to that in Beijing, although on a much smaller scale. We preferred it to the Beijing one as it's a lot smaller, with prettier gardens and ponds, and more relaxed as you're free to roam around most of it by yourself, unlike in Beijing where a lot of areas are restricted.
Its delapidated state kind of made it more charming compared with the much tidier brand-spanking new-looking Beijing one which has little of its original buildings left as the Chinese seem to like to knock nice historical stuff down and then rebuild them. Having said that, a lot of the Forbidden Purple City was destroyed during the Tet Offensive and we saw quite a bit of restoration work going on on some of the buildings.
Strolled back across the river, this time over the Phu Xuen bridge, and spent the rest of the evening chilling out in the hostel, which is brilliant; 9 USD for a double bed in dorm room (we've not seen doubles in dorms before), free breakfast, free beer from 5-6pm every night, and 2-4-1 happy hour cocktails at 20,000VND (about 70p). Plus Thursday night is 'Beerger night', which meant Chris got a free beer with the Hawaiian hamburger he ordered for dinner too!