Thien Mu Pagoda Hue

When we tried to get to Hue the main obsticle we faced was actually trying to tell people where we wanted to go. We've sinced learnt that if you squark like a bird the Vietnamese know exactly where you want to go- Hue- where else!

We checked into a hotel that meant we were officially flashpacking for our stay here. Wifi, aircon, cable TV, …

Hue, although worthy stop, began to look much like other places we have already visited. Famous due to it's status as the Imperial City for much of the Nguyen Dynasty, it had all the things you would expect from an Imperial City.

During our first full day we did a city tour that had us visiting a traditional wooden house, the famous Thien …

We had heard it was still the rainy season but we've been really lucky with the weather so far. However when we arrived at Hué the rain finally caught up to us… It wasn't too bad, just some light showers and not that often.
We arrived early in the morning as usual and had breakfast at the Hué Backpackers Hostel. This hostel is nothing …

Up early again, in time to have breakfast in the hotel. The amount of breakfasts that were included in the room rate that we have missed is just ridiculous, but no more. There was a pretty vast variety of food on offer, but it being breakfast, I opted for toast with fried eggs opposed to spring rolls and noodles. After much bickering the night …

Hue made quite a change from the busy and chilly Hanoi.

Hello humidity! There's no question we're moving down south.

On the first day we arrived at 8am after a rough journey on a night train. We were in a carriage full of locals and had "soft" seats. They have an interesting definition of soft here... anyway as you can imagine …

We arrived in Hue, had some food and drinks and a rest and then caught up with a couple of people that we'd met in various places along the way through Vietnam. I was chatting to a girl called Vera, from Germany and she mentioned a couple of people she'd met, /who I also knew, and by complete coincidence, we realised we were on the same night …

We heard great reviews about the motorcycle tours organised around Hue, not only from Lonely Planet, but also from tourists we met along the way. It was therefore a priority of our journey to have such an experience. Just some back ground information, most hotels in Hue offer bus/boat tours of the city, which range from around 80,000 VND (4 USD) …

We got on the train in Hanoi. To our surprise, most of the other passengers seemed to be tourists too. Entering the cabins we noticed that it was very roomy, with four big bunks in each cabin and plenty of space between them. As usual, the soft in soft sleeper is more of a relative term, consisting of a thin mattress on a hopefully sturdy wooden …

14 hours didn't go too badly & we arrived early morning in Hue. We weren't dropped off at the hostel but we got a taxi with a few people from our bus which was handy - it was just round the corner but I was happy not to have to carry my bag! This hostel was the same chain as the Hanoi one but it had a lot more of a relaxing atmosphere. The area …

Salimos finalmente desde Hanoi....hacia el sur, en busca del esquivo sol y el calor. Tomamos el bus cama que compramos en la capital y cuando lo abordamos...la verdad es que sus camas nos dieron mucha risa cuando las vimos: eran de porte similar al de una asiento de clase económica de un avión y reclinadas casi completamente, sin posibilidad de …

... amazing to think that this amphitheatre was used right up until the early 1900's. We take a look at Thien Mu Pagoda, close to the citadel in Hue. We see a rusting blue Austin car which transported a monk called Thich Quang Duc who burned himself to ...

... Perfume River where we had booked a daytrip. We boarded our boat and set off down the river making our first stop at Thien Mu Pagoda which was set up high on a hill overlooking the Perfume River. Behind the Pagoda was an active monastery where monks ...

... (the driver) to wear, and we set off. We took a gorgeous road along the Perfume river, past the lovely old Thien Mu pagoda and many villages. (Leaving the bike whilst visiting attractions becomes an expensive business, as you feel obliged to buy a drink ...

... the bike, we managed to navigate our way back out of the city and into the countryside. About 5km from the centre stands the Thien Mu Pagoda. It was beautiful and once you got to the top, there were amazing viewers over Hue and of the Perfume river. The ...

... for is the occasional stray water buffalo or palm frond in the road. On our ride we visited the beautifully serene Thien Mu Pagoda. Although it has a beautiful setting overlooking the Perfume River and is an architectural gem, it is best known as the ...

... I can't remember right now but a good few years. From here we zoomed back through the paddy fields and along the beautiful Thien Mu pagoda overlooking the river which is also home of the car (what's left of it) that the monk Thich Quang Duc burnt ...

... . In the morning we boarded our Dragon Boat that took us down the Perfume River. We had two stop offs. Firstly was the Thien Mu Pagoda and Temple. This was a lovely area right on the river banks where there were monks at prey and a really tranquil and ...

... and insect repellent (Stupid Tourist Man strikes again!). Then it was over the train tracks and down a dirt track to the Thien Mu Pagoda, built in 1601 and overlooking the Perfume River. This is regarded as the centre of Buddhism in Vietnam (60% of the ...

... Phan took me around the outskirts of town. At Tu Hieu Temple, a dozen monks chanted and drummed while I lit incense. At Thien Mu Pagoda, the Perfume River flowed easterly between the hills. At Tu Duc's Mausoleum, I saw a great example of an emperor ...

... today, which stopped at many of the royal mausoleums from the Nguyen dynasty along the way. First we stopped at the Thien Mu Pagoda. In 1963 a monk from this monastery went to Saigon in his Austin car to protest against the repression of monks by ...