Royal tombs

Trip Start Aug 24, 2008
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Trip End Jul 07, 2009


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Flag of Vietnam  ,
Wednesday, December 17, 2008

We did not get much sleep on the bus due to me being ill and also the horn constantly beeping and excessive use of the brakes causing us to practically fall out of our sleeper beds. We stopped for breakfast but food was not something I wanted. We arrived in Hue and checked into the first hotel we found. After a shower and a snooze we went for lunch in a very nice cafe full of lovely photos of Vietnam. We picked up a leaflet for a walking tour of Hue and decided to follow it. It took us over the river to the citadel and the Imperial city, which was heavily bombed by the Americans during the Vietnam war so was mostly a ruin, but had a couple of interesting buildings and a pretty lake. We saw a sampan village where people live in boats and the little children waved at us.
 
The next day I was still suffering from the stomach bug, but we took a tour of the royal tombs. First of all we stopped at a village where people make conical hats, and I bought one as a souvenir, although I am not sure how I'll get it home. We saw incense being made as well. The first tomb we visited was the tomb of Tu Duc which was next to a large lake surrounded by trees. It was quite pretty with interesting architecture, but the tomb itself was a plain grey box. Next we visited the tomb of Minh Mang which was similar but we could not see the tomb itself because he was buried in a secret tunnel that has not been found. The final tomb was by far the best. It was the tomb of Khai Dinh and had a mixture of Vietnamese and European architecture. It was on the top of a hill with lots of steps. It was very ornate and intricate. We went inside the building itself and were very impressed. The walls were decorated with glass and ceramic mosaic in 3D, making pictures of flowers and animals. There was a statue of the king made of gold and every inch of space was covered in mosaic. It reminded me of a more colourful version of the Amber Room at St Catherine's Palace in St Petersburg. After lunch we were taken to the Citadel so David and I went for a walk around the Imperial City walls (we saw the citadel yesterday). We past 2 beautiful city gates decorated in colourful mosaic and painted yellow. Next we went to Thien Mu pagoda, which is by the river, and saw lots of monks chanting. We then took a boat down the Perfume River, which was a bit misty and rainy but we passed some fishing boats and sampans. Back in town I was feeling much better so we went to a French restaurant where David had the most yummy food ever - chicken in white wine and vinegar and cream sauce. We even had some French wine!
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