Day 7 - Hue

All ready to move on to Hue and explore the town but the unexpected awaits us - our flight got delayed for 4 hours because there was insufficient uptake of seats. We rushed down to the airport by 1030am only to realise we will have to hang around aimlessly till 4.30pm. Goodness gracious me!

As much as we accepted that it was something beyond our control, we could not help but felt wasted. That 4 hours of idling in the airport could have been used to unearth some treasures in Hue. No choice. Just got to move on and make changes to our already very flexible itinerary :). Guess this is part and parcel of backpacking and going by budget flights. An experience in itself.

But it was not all that bad because I got to sample Vietnamese beef stew @ the airport and it was real yummy! Tender chunks of beef that simply melts in your mouth and the ever delicious french loaf that goes so well with the gravy! Mouth-watering isn't it? Wait till you see the picture! And guess what...I later discovered my favourite ice-cream - All New Zealand's Natural! Ha! Cannot believe it man. I was a happy person after that. Very easily satisfied!

Another positive side to the delay was being able to catch the beautiful sunset from the plane.

Simply awesome isn't it?

Upon arriving at Danang, we proceeded to take a 2hrs drive into Hue. By the time we settled into our hotel, it was almost 9pm and our stomachs were growling like crazy. Still, we took our time to walk the streets and we caught sight of this bridge that was lit up with different colors at different intervals. Pretty pretty...

But the highlight for the night was our dinner! We found this North Indian restaurant and we had no regrets stepping in ever since. I would have gladly paid for any service charge (if there was any). Friendly staff with excellent customer service and the food was outrageously delicious! Better than what I've tasted in Singapore and at such affordable prices! My 'Chai' came in a teapot, not the normal miserly looking cup! They even 'invited' me into the kitchen to take pictures of the chefs in action! Oh by the way, the chef is from India! And there's another who's Italian but doesn't look like one in the slightest bit!

Look at the spread! Our table was almost filled! No words could describe how satisfied we were after we whacked our dinner!

My order - Tandoori Chicken. Nicely grilled and it was not scrawny chicken meat. Juicy, chunky tender it was. Dipped in the green minty sauce and you'll fly to the skies immediately! Just describing it now makes me salivate!

What an honor to have been able to take a shot with the kitchen staff - those working behind the scenes to put the sumptious spread on our table. I cannot forget the smiles on their faces when we complimented their dishes. They were happy to see us relishing our food.

I believe the little compliments we paid them will go a long way in motivating them to continue being excellent in what they do. Who knows, maybe they have not received any encouragements or compliments for a long time till they met us? I was just more than glad to have been able to make them smile and even laugh albeit it was for a short while.

The day may have started off bad with the delay but it ended on a high note for me. Everything happens for a reason. It may very be a blessing in disguise to have had the delay. As far as I remembered, as we walked back after the unforgettable dinner, no one actually mentioned about the silly delay again.

Guess there's always a silver lining to look out for behind those seemingly dark clouds.