A grey and drizzley day. We took a walk over the river to the imposing Imperial enclosure and the forbidden city. A dark fat bullet riddled tower squatting infront, with a Vietnamese flag the size of a football pitch flapping above it. Below in the now dry moat, people were growing their lettuces.
Inside lay many ruined buildings and partched gardens. Gift shops selling authentic crafts, like plastic Donald Ducks. Uli and I managed to wake up one of the attendants sleeping under a table and got her to help us put on some of the pantomime Mandarin costumes and pose on one of the thrones.
Felt a bit of a tingle below as we read that in the old days only the King, his 300 wives and eunocks (carrying their testicles infront of them) were allowed in the forbidden city.
Dinner that night at a little place where you have a personal bar-b-q to cook your meat. The lady there continually mothered us and enthusiastically held her thumbs up to say that the all the food on the menu is good.
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