Imperial City in the Rain
Trip Start
Dec 16, 2007
1
41
47
Trip End
Jul 09, 2008
Hue,
Hue,
Vietnam
Sunday, May 11, 2008
I opted for a guided tour of a few sites so I could learn about the history and background of them...sometimes I find the limited signage takes away from the experience if I don't know what I'm looking at. First up, a boat ride down the Perfume River, where I got to see more of the floating houses. This ride led us to the Thien Mu Pagoda, which is famous for being the home pagoda of the monk who publicly burned himself to protest Diem's policies. Apart from this the pagoda was quite peaceful, there is an octagonal tower of seven levels, each one dedicated to different principles of Buddhism, lots of lovely grounds and the main altar which was home to three gold Buddha's representing past, present and future. This monastary is the oldest one in the city built in the 17th century.
Next we went to the citadel, although most of it was destroyed by bombs what remains is quite elaborate and at only 35% left I can't even imagine how immense this complex must have been. My first glimpse was of the huge walls surrounding the complex which is apparently 6 square km with 10 entrance gates all accessed by bridges crossing the moat. The inside is divided into different areas, we got to visit the Imperial Enclosure which is essentially a city within a city where the Emperor did his official business. This area was quite beautiful with courtyards surrounded by Chinese influenced buildings, in one there was an altar dedicated to each of the kings. Also within the enclosure is the Forbidden Purple City, which as the name implies was remodelled after the actual Forbidden City in Beijing. Unfortunately though most of it was destroyed and what is left was under reconstruction so I wasn't able to see it. This is the area where the emperor would have carried out his private life.
Pretty soon after this I was catching yet another night train...
