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Hue
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My city tour of Hue began at 8:30am on Friday the 14th of September. Hue has a population of about 300,000 and served as the political capital from 1802 to 1945 under 13 emperors of the Nguyen dynasty. The Song Huong (Perfume river) flows through the city. There was a good mix of people on the tour, including some Vietnamese, a German man, a young Dutch couple, an American man, who told us his whole life story and seemed to be irritated through out the tour, in fact he did end his tour before lunch. There was also 2 Irish girls from County Cork - Caroline and Lorraine, who I mostly talked to on the tour.
The first place we went to was the CITADEL. This is a really impressive and dominating building in the city, huge. It was built in 1804 by Emperor Gia Long, or at least started in 1804.The emperor's official functions were carried out in the Imperial enclosure, a Citadel within a Citadel. Inside the 6m high, 2.5km long wall is a surreal world of deserted gardens and ceremonial halls. Within the Imperial enclosure is the Forbidden purple city, were servants were only allowed to enter.
It was a pity that our tour guide could not speak good English, as I would have liked to have known more.
Anyway next we went the garden houses in Phu Mong, which was a bit stupid. It was just an old Vietnamese house with some trees dotted around it. There was not many flowers. Maybe it was just the wrong season. I think by this stage the American (who lived in Thailand) was getting very irritated :-). After this we went to a small village to watch them make conical hats and incense sticks. It was interesting to see how to make incense sticks (see photo). Looking at the girl making them, I think she could easily make a million a day. The tour then took us to see the Tu Duc tomb. Born in 1829, Emperor Tu Duc had the longest reign of all in the Nguyen Dynasty. The King died in 1883 after 35 years on the throne. Built between 1864-1867, his tomb includes 50 monuments surrounded by a 1.5km wall. The whole place is beautifully designed, with a lake and many pine trees.
After the Tu Duc tomb we went for lunch to a Vietnamese restaurant(this is where the American left us). It was very nice and it was included in the price of our tour, which was only $7. They did however charge me $1 for a can of coke. I also wanted to sit with the Irish girls, but I could not because they were vegetarians and I had to share the food with the meat eaters.
After lunch we went to the Tomb of Khai Dinh. Emperor Khai Dinh (1885-1925) ruled Vietnam for 9 years (1916-1925). His tomb took 11 years to complete. Construction began in 1920 and was completed in 1931. Under Khai Dinh, Western culture and influence began to seep into Vietnam. The king himself visited France in 1922. As a result, his tomb has many elements of Western architecture. The two Irish girls and myself didn't go into to see this tomb. We later called it 'The one that got away'. It did look very impressive from the outside and I kinda regret not going in as it was very different and unique from the other tombs, a well, we took photos from the outside. I have also come to realise that I can't see everything and also it's good to leave somethings out, just in case I was ever to come back.
We then went on to the Minh Mang Tomb, who ruled from 1820 to 1840, during this period the Nguyen Dynasty reached it's height. His tomb was built 12km from Hue in four years (1840-1843). A 2km oval wall surrounds the whole place. The one thing that you really notice about this tomb is that it totally blends in with it's natural surroundings, which is also quite similar in design to the tomb of Tu Duc.
Next the tour took us to see the Thiem Mu Pagoda (Heavenly Lady Pagoda). It's octagonal in shape and is one of the most famous structures in Vietnam. It looks like a round tower but it is not, a pagoda is a spiritual place, not a church or a temple, but just a place where there is a spiritual presence, and you could feel it here.
This Pagoda was the center of Buddhism in central Vietnam. In 1963, in a defying act against the Diem regime (south Vietnam leader), Thich Quang Duc (monk) burned himself in downtown Saigon. Today, the car that took him to Saigon is stored in the rear of Thien Mu Pagoda. See photo.
The last part of the tour was to cruise the perfume river by boat viewing daily life along the way. I did notice the difference between the boats here (Vietnam) and in Laos. On the river the police/ guards passed us at high speed and our boat nearly toppled over. We got back to the center of the city where the boat left us off. I walked back to the hotel with the 2 Irish girls, along the way we stopped at the post office and agreed to meet later for dinner. Back at at the hotel I received an email from Keita - a Japanese guy I met in Australia while fruit picking, telling me that he was in another room in the hotel and that I should come and see him.
So I did for an hour. It was very nice too see him again.
I met Caroline and Lorraine at 7:30pm and we walked to a small Vietnamese restaurant, we were joined later by a Vietnamese girl and her brother, who the Irish girls knew from the day before. After dinner we went to a very small but cosy bar near our hotel. There were books in the corner and writing all over the walls and ceiling. The two Irish girls and myself stayed here until closing time and had a great chat, one of the girls sisters is married to a Dutchman and lives in Amsterdam. After the bar we got a small bottle of Whiskey to have back in there hotel room. It was great to meet these girls, I guess it also helped that they were from Ireland. I felt great. A good day had.
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